Investigative Group

ACLU Defends Chelsea Manning But Silent About FBI Raid Against Reported Clinton Whistleblower

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton head toward the inaugural luncheon during the 58th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. More than 5,000 military members from across all branches of the armed forces of the United States, including reserve and National Guard components, provided ceremonial support and Defense Support of Civil Authorities during the inaugural period. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos) | By Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

• Liberal civil liberties groups that defend whistleblowers have remained silent about an FBI raid on a reported whistleblower.
• The FBI raided the home of Dennis Cain, a protected whistleblower who delivered documents regarding Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to the Justice Department Inspector General, according to Cain’s lawyer.
• Conservative and moderate whistleblower advocates expressed support for Cain.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other left-wing civil liberties groups defend Chelsea Manning and other whistleblowers, but have remained silent about an FBI raid on a reportedly protected whistleblower.

The Daily Caller News Foundation sought comment from a variety of organizations and advocates that defend whistleblowers following the raid. While conservatives and moderates responded, most of the liberal groups, including the ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights, did not.

Sixteen FBI agents raided Cain’s home for six hours on Nov. 19, despite that Cain, a former employee of an FBI contractor, was a protected whistleblower under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, according to his attorney, Michael Socarras.

Cain possessed documents that showed federal officials failed to investigate potential criminal activity regarding the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and Uranium One, according to Socarras.

The three liberal organizations have voiced support for whistleblowers, including Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst who was convicted by court martial under the Espionage Act in 2013 after giving 750,000 classified and unclassified government documents to WikiLeaks.

Conversely, Cain provided his documents to the Justice Department Inspector General, and they have not been published, according to Socarras.

Manning, who was known as Bradley before transitioning to a woman, was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but then-President Barack Obama commuted his sentence.

“The ACLU continues to play a central role in the courts and Congress in … defending the ability of whistleblowers to reveal information about government wrongdoing,” the ACLU states on its website.

Upon Manning’s release from prison, ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio said: “It is incredible to witness Chelsea Manning’s freedom after having seen and worked with her behind bars for four years. We can all finally truly celebrate the strength and heroism she has shown in surviving and sharing her truth and life with all of us.”

The National Lawyer’s Guild, which calls itself “the nation’s oldest and largest progressive bar association,” published an articlein June 2017 titled “To Fight against US Imperialism, We Must Protect Whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning.”

“It is our duty to take up the banner and to engage in the fight against U.S. imperialism, to save future Chelsea Mannings from having to decide between principle and liberty,” former National Lawyers Guild President David Gespass wrote. “We wish her well as she embarks on her new life, as a woman at liberty, however scarred by her ordeal.”

The ACLU also defended former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who, according to the NSA, stole as many as 1.7 million from the spy agency. He now lives in Russia under asylum.

“We represent National Security Agency surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden,” the ACLU statedon its website.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, which says it “works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation,” called the Manning court martial, a “show trial.” It added that “the prosecution twisted Manning’s actions to blur the distinction between whistleblowing and spying.”

After Manning announced she was a woman, the Center released a statement saying, “The Center for Constitutional Rights once again applauds the courage of Chelsea Manning, first for being willing to risk her own freedom in service to her country and human rights, and now for having the courage to declare her gender identity.”

Public Citizen, a liberal advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader, however, did denounce the FBI raid on Cain’s residence.

“Well it certainly sounds like an absolute violation of the spirit of what the whistleblower law is supposed to be all about,” a lobbyist for the group, Craig Holman, previously told TheDCNF.

Holman didn’t know why the other liberal groups wouldn’t express support for Cain.

“I’m trying to come up with a reason why they would ignore you,” he told TheDCNF. “I am confused why they would not have responded to you. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Nick Schwellenbach, director of investigations at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group that protects whistleblowers refused to criticize the left-wing groups for their silence. But he told TheDCNF that when the government retaliates against whistleblowers, “I think we should all be concerned about the chilling effect.”

President of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, Tom Fitton, told TheDCNF that the civil liberties groups are no longer neutral and nonpartisan, but are “tools of the Left to merely achieve desired political outcomes.”

Cain has continued to show his love for America. “I also want to pray for the many dedicated and loyal patriots that still work for the FBI not to be discouraged, as they do incredibly important work to take real bad guys off the street,” the whistleblower tweeted on Dec. 1.

..I also want to pray for the many dedicated and loyal patriots that still work for the FBI not to be discouraged, as they do incredibly important work to take real bad guys off the street. In an organization as big as the FBI there are bound to be problems that need fixing.

— Nate Cain ???????????????? (@cain_nate) December 1, 2018

Editors Note: Richard Pollock was previously represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights in a landmark lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the FBI’s COINTELPRO program, where the bureau spied on political activists. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict against the FBI. The ACLU was involved in the trial stage of the case.

Follow Richard on Twitter