Tom Drake
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Oh, I hadn't gotten to that story, which is a punchline for me when it comes to ThinThread. Right. What do you do? This is a moment of truth for me. I was already incredibly alarmed. I'm already gone to the most senior people at that time. I've already gone to the office of general counsel. I've already confronted the director of the signals intelligence. In that moment,
Oh, I hadn't gotten to that story, which is a punchline for me when it comes to ThinThread. Right. What do you do? This is a moment of truth for me. I was already incredibly alarmed. I'm already gone to the most senior people at that time. I've already gone to the office of general counsel. I've already confronted the director of the signals intelligence. In that moment,
Oh, I hadn't gotten to that story, which is a punchline for me when it comes to ThinThread. Right. What do you do? This is a moment of truth for me. I was already incredibly alarmed. I'm already gone to the most senior people at that time. I've already gone to the office of general counsel. I've already confronted the director of the signals intelligence. In that moment,
is I got off the phone with that attorney. I said, I cannot remain silent. If I remain silent, I am complicit in the subversion of the Constitution. I took an oath to support and defend basically my entire military career, government career. I'm not going to let the government violate the Constitution. You can have both.
is I got off the phone with that attorney. I said, I cannot remain silent. If I remain silent, I am complicit in the subversion of the Constitution. I took an oath to support and defend basically my entire military career, government career. I'm not going to let the government violate the Constitution. You can have both.
is I got off the phone with that attorney. I said, I cannot remain silent. If I remain silent, I am complicit in the subversion of the Constitution. I took an oath to support and defend basically my entire military career, government career. I'm not going to let the government violate the Constitution. You can have both.
This thing about it's black or white, liberty or security, you actually can have both at the same time and compromise neither. There's that famous Benjamin Franklin quote. Right. Security for free. For those who, yes. You can sell both. They erred and even Hayden himself admitted, we drew that line. He always sports it.
This thing about it's black or white, liberty or security, you actually can have both at the same time and compromise neither. There's that famous Benjamin Franklin quote. Right. Security for free. For those who, yes. You can sell both. They erred and even Hayden himself admitted, we drew that line. He always sports it.
This thing about it's black or white, liberty or security, you actually can have both at the same time and compromise neither. There's that famous Benjamin Franklin quote. Right. Security for free. For those who, yes. You can sell both. They erred and even Hayden himself admitted, we drew that line. He always sports it.
A little bit. Those who seek a little will lose both.
A little bit. Those who seek a little will lose both.
A little bit. Those who seek a little will lose both.
Yeah. A little liberty for security will lose both. There's a larger quote around that. Right, right, right. I moment, in that moment, I knew I could remain silent, but I knew by not remaining silent, I put myself at extraordinary risk. I'm a senior executive. I had taken the oath. I have a fundamental responsibility.
Yeah. A little liberty for security will lose both. There's a larger quote around that. Right, right, right. I moment, in that moment, I knew I could remain silent, but I knew by not remaining silent, I put myself at extraordinary risk. I'm a senior executive. I had taken the oath. I have a fundamental responsibility.
Yeah. A little liberty for security will lose both. There's a larger quote around that. Right, right, right. I moment, in that moment, I knew I could remain silent, but I knew by not remaining silent, I put myself at extraordinary risk. I'm a senior executive. I had taken the oath. I have a fundamental responsibility.
So- I'm going to accelerate this because it's really because then how was I punished, right? And this is where life literally was turned upside down for me because even then I was being tagged as a troublemaker, okay? So I decided to blow the whistle. I went to the inspector general.
So- I'm going to accelerate this because it's really because then how was I punished, right? And this is where life literally was turned upside down for me because even then I was being tagged as a troublemaker, okay? So I decided to blow the whistle. I went to the inspector general.
So- I'm going to accelerate this because it's really because then how was I punished, right? And this is where life literally was turned upside down for me because even then I was being tagged as a troublemaker, okay? So I decided to blow the whistle. I went to the inspector general.
I then went secretly, which was allowed under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, an actual act of Congress. I could go at the time. They modified it later. I could go directly to the Intelligence Committee's oversight, both HPSI and CISI, I'm just, well, expanding it, but it's the secret. I could go to them to share my concerns in private.
I then went secretly, which was allowed under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, an actual act of Congress. I could go at the time. They modified it later. I could go directly to the Intelligence Committee's oversight, both HPSI and CISI, I'm just, well, expanding it, but it's the secret. I could go to them to share my concerns in private.