Whistleblowers Face Alleged Criminal Investigation

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) investigation is targeting whistleblowers that have spoken with the media, as reported by MSNBC.com. The investigation stems from media reports that TSA removed air marshals from flights. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA, denies any whistleblower investigation is taking place, but is looking into the removal of the air marshals from flights. Air marshals work as undercover law enforcement officers aboard airlines and sign non-disclosure agreements in order to receive access to classified information. An earlier MSNBC.com report claims that air marshals were pulled from high-risk flights to save money. Some air marshals believed this action breached security and relayed these concerns to the media. Several Senate Democrats, including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) voiced gratitude to the air marshals for bringing attention to the security issue, but DHS is concerned that classified information was released. DHS says it will prosecute any cases where classified information was released under non-disclosure agreements. Some air marshals stated that TSA was briefing field offices about the situation and threatened to use the USA Patriot Act to track officers who spoke with the media. However, TSA cannot invoke the Patriot Act because it is not a law enforcement agency. If the investigation does find that federal employees leaked information about the security vulnerabilities, it is unclear how well they would be protected under the Whisteblower Protection Act. Given that the air marshals appear to have simply been trying to improve airline security by blowing the whistle on this troubling practice, they certainly fit the spirit of the law. However, any protection would depend on whether the information was classified, what information is covered by their non-disclosure agreements, and how much information was released and to whom.
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