Whistleblower Bill: Fire WikiLeaks Perps

A whistleblower protection bill for federal workers that stalled before Congress adjourned would have allowed defense intelligence employees to be fired for compromising national security, aka posting classified material on the anti-secrets website WikiLeaks.

More precisely, unlike other federal personnel, they would not be protected against retaliation from certain high-ranking employers for disclosing information if the officials, including the director of national intelligence, CIA director or an agency head, determine that terminating the employees is "in the interest of the United States."

Incoming House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who backed the bill (S. 372), explained the rationale for several provisions in the measure that exclude intelligence workers:

"I'm disappointed that the administration has refused to answer questions from Congress about how it intends to address the situation with WikiLeaks and prevent the reckless publication of sensitive national security information in the future. Had the administration been more forthcoming, this bill could have advanced with more protections for federal employees who work on matters of national security. In the next Congress, I intend to continue the discussion about providing appropriate protections for federal employees who expose wrongdoing through legal and responsible channels."