The upcoming trial of whistleblower Thomas Drake who’s charged with violating the Espionage Act

The trial of the whistleblower, Thomas Drake, a former National Security Agency (NSA) executive is due to being on June 13.  Drake is charged with violating the Espionage Act by retaining classified information and could face up to 35 years in prison.  But Drake says the information he gave reporters was about waste and mismanagement at the NSA and he didn’t know it was classified.  In April Drake defended his actions during a speech to accept the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling:

“Truth tellers such as myself are those who are simply doing their jobs and honoring their oaths to serve their nation under the law of the land.  We are dedicated to the proposition that government service is of, for, by the people.”

Sound courtesy of Democracy Now.  Drake was presented with the Ridenhour Prize by Jesselyn Radack, Homeland Security & Human Rights Director for the whistleblowing organization, the Government Accountability Project (GAP).  Radack is a former ethics adviser to the United States Department of Justice who also came to prominence as a whistleblower after she disclosed that the FBI violated the civil rights John Walker Lindh, the so called "American Taliban".   She joined us to discuss the Drake case.