Whistleblowers claim retaliation on rise

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Whistleblowers in often secretive Washington told a congressional panel retaliation against the exposure of questionable governmental activity is increasing.

While leaders such as CIA Director Porter Goss say, as he did in a recent op-ed in The New York Times, that one of the biggest problems the agency faces is leaks from its own members, controversial programs such as secret U.S. prisons overseas and the NSA warrantless spying program, would be unknown to the public without those leaks.

But a hearing by the House Government Affairs subcommittee this week indicates there is a price to pay for releasing such information, with the loss of security clearance one of the first -- and most effective -- punishments, the Christian Science Monitor reported Thursday

Several people who spoke of what they believed were questionable activities told House members at the hearing of facing retaliation because they had gone public. They said they went the whistleblower route after trips through regular channels were unfruitful.

"Secrecy has become a growth industry," Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists told the Monitor. "It makes it harder for ordinary citizens ... to ask questions ... and to hold officials accountable."