This Former Whistleblower Is Offering Free Legal Help to Officials Trying to Expose Government Wrongdoing

"About two and a half years into John Tye‘s time working on internet policy for the State Department, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden came forward with arguably the most influential leak of classified information in US history. He published several NSA documents exposing the agency’s global surveillance programs, setting off a nationwide review of how the government balances privacy and security.

Tye was one of the officials tasked with drafting the response to Snowden’s document dump, and because of that, he received a comprehensive briefing. It was during that session that he first learned of the broad scope of Executive Order 12333, the Reagan-era document expanding US intelligence agencies’ powers.

Tye was disturbed that most of the coverage about Snowden cited the post-9/11 Patriot Act, but didn’t mention the executive order, so he blew the whistle on it. Unlike Snowden, though, he made sure to do so in a way that avoided leaking any classified information..."

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