- Welcome to AntiPolygraph.org Message Board.
A forum for free and open discussion of polygraph-related topics
Posted by xenonman
- Mar 27, 2017, 11:45 PMQuote from: ap1011 on Mar 27, 2017, 10:15 PMQuote from: xenonman on Jun 17, 2015, 12:52 PMHasn't psychological testing and meeting with a psychiatrist always been part of application processing at NSA?
It was for me. They do a psychological battery, then put you up in a hotel room then do a polygraph the next day. During the psychological exam they ask you all sorts of intrusive questions to prime you before the polygraph.
That was absolutely the case for me when I was interviewed there in 1982. The psychological battery certainly did include some very intrusive questions, although these weren't directly linked to the polygraph.
Posted by ap1011
- Mar 27, 2017, 10:15 PMQuote from: xenonman on Jun 17, 2015, 12:52 PMHasn't psychological testing and meeting with a psychiatrist always been part of application processing at NSA?
It was for me. They do a psychological battery, then put you up in a hotel room then do a polygraph the next day. During the psychological exam they ask you all sorts of intrusive questions to prime you before the polygraph.
Posted by xenonman
- Jun 17, 2015, 12:52 PMHasn't psychological testing and meeting with a psychiatrist always been part of application processing at NSA?
Posted by Dr. Carpenter
- Mar 06, 2015, 11:45 PMThe behavior of the agency(s) highlighted here is classic Group (or cluster) B emotional disorder behavior. Psychopathy/Narcissism/Borderline/Paranoia/Schizoid/Sociopathy.
Please read up on Narcissistic Abuse. You will ID the behavior(s) of the agency(s) and it's personnel. Wikipedia's description of 'NPD' and 'narcissistic abuse' is a good place to start. I assure you a little reading about narcissistic abuse will bring clarity as to the nature of the behavior(s) and what is going on as described in the above article.
Group B behaviors are very similar and very easy to spot and obvious once you know what to look for.
There is a disorder known as 'Dark Triad' that is a three part combination of psychopath/narcissist/borderline or sociopathy. Their behavior can often be evil, malicious and amoral without conscience. One of the trickiest things about them is they are often extremely believable (and incapable of true emotion or empathy.) They are robotic, predictable and very very emotionally dangerous. They are commonly referred to as 'Emotional Vampires'. People who are at all empathic or emotional are their favorite food. Show totally flat emotional affect (think garlic) when dealing with them and get away.
Sadly the best way to protect yourself is to run. In the situations described here they are almost impossible to stop. They have clearly taken over the security agencies. Group B's can make great on the ground intelligence agents due to there inherent believability and ability to manipulate, lie and gaslight. They are Teflon coated masters of projecting their behavior on to you and making you question your own sanity. They will make a sane person CRAZY in a very short period of time - often within weeks. Then the abused/confused employee is accused of being crazy, which they are having been made crazy by systematic abuse. Yes that is right. They make YOU crazy.
Please, if you have been exposed to this behavior even for a short period of time please get help. They will make YOU insane for real. Sounds outlandish and crazy doe's it not? Read up.
How do I know? Many decades of experience with and study of Group B and narcissistic abuse. I believe every word of the above posts. It all tracks perfectly.
Once you have done some reading there are two experts each with series of videos on Youtube. (Sam V. and Spartan L.C.)
Great site, fascinating reading! I got here via a search for 'Postal Inspector' to look into making a complaint. Talk about crazy toxic workplaces....
God help us all.
Dr. C
'Crazy' is not the term used in studies and is considered unprofessional. I use it because it descriptive, illustrative and it fits much like 'emotional vampires'. I am not a MD but my guess is you could probably stop one by driving a stake through it's heart.
(Edited x2 due to fear of the grammar nazi by Dr.C.
Posted by Americansince1600s
- Jan 13, 2010, 07:01 PMI am an NSA employee with 27+ years of service who was attacked for daring to ask the Inspector General's (Vito Potenza) Office to look into why 3 separate, unsolicited witnesses painted a picture to me of MY project being used to promote a woman granting sexual favors to upper managers in S2J. The woman had not a thing to do with my project, had no college education, was barely literate, but made branch chief mysteriously after a promotion board had rejected her as laughably unpromotable.
Here is a letter I sent off in the summer of 2009, but i have had no response whatsoever from anyone, and I sent it far and wide.
The Director of the Office of National Intelligence
The Honorable Dennis Blair
13 June 2009
21 June 2009, Revised
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you to report a gross abuse of power, human resources, and funding for retaliation. This also has the potential, rightly so, of destroying the trust of the American people in the Homeland Security effort as a sham for the most vile traitors, seditionists, and power hungry criminals to ever be exposed in government.
I work for the National Security Agency (NSA) as a linguist/analyst. In 2002-3 I and a colleague put out about 24 reports that ultimately saved the lives of many U.S. military people and probably an untold number of foreign civilians. For unknown reasons, our own management (S2J/33) attempted to squelch this effort even when it was clear Americans would die if we did not undertake this project. The co-worker, Gary Wixxxxxxi, who came to me with the first lead information, contacted military and government leaders in the higher echelons to explain what we were sitting on and they demanded its release. He traveled the world doing technical investigations and tests on "how" and I did internet research and reports on "who, what, where, why." This enabled us to thwart the threat and save lives at a critical juncture in our history.
As a "reward", the aforementioned gentleman was chased out of the organization and I was targeted for a false security breach accusation and the destruction of my career and life for daring to have done my job well.
In 2004 a promotion board member, Lori Haxxxxxn, alleged that Robert Gaxxxr, our GS-15 Office Chief (S2J) had purposely misrepresented the work that I did on this project as that of Rita LaPxxxxe, a coworker and fellow GS-12 who had nothing to do with the project whatsoever (verifiable through Gary Wixxxxxxi, project lead). This woman became my branch chief and began to squelch my resume to hide the theft of work. In 2003 I was put forward for promotion based on my project and other works, but in 2004 under Mrs. LaPxxxxe, suddenly my work had no merit. When I asked a few questions about promotion irregularities as alleged to me by multiple people at that point, I was suddenly and publicly accused by Suzette Fxxy, my technical lead and best friend of Rita LaPxxxxe, of having leaked computer information to a local newspaper. She did this by screaming over a partition, "(my name), your article about NSA computers is in the Baltimore (Sun?/Times?)." Of course, everyone on the office heard this. When I went to her desk to ask what in the world she was talking about, she quietly replied, "Just kidding. I just thought you would like the article because you complain about the computers."
Very shortly, I was called by Security (Q group) to demand that I present myself for a polygraph. I was escorted back to the polygraph room by Joseph Fasio, Jr., who inexplicably kept us standing outside the door until the last people had left the hall, then launched into a verbal attack. As the last people he was watching disappeared into a room, Mr. Fasio leaned over me and in a threatening growl said, "I have done over 2,000 polygraphs so if you try to (pull anything/put something over on me) – I'm going to GET YOU!!!" Naturally the test was skewed by my adrenalin rush – something he had to have known when he did it. The follow-up polygraph was "indecisive" merely because it was "so very different" from the first (i.e., I passed it). The third I was told I passed, but apparently, the first was used to deceitfully attain a warrant to bug/wiretap my house, phone, cable and GPS track my car. (Details later). After several months, the investigating agents, which I assume were FBI, dropped the matter based on the fact no evidence existed any wrongdoing on MY part.
But that was not good enough for NSA. They launched into an employer harassment/stalking campaign which included aggressive driving attacks on the road by security and private (Paragon Security) contractor personnel (I have license plates and images). They even followed me down to Florida in December 2008 to wiretap my parents' phone and cable (causing disruptions 80% of the time of their ability to call 911 among other things for this 78 and 80 year old couple.) AND their 18 month old New Foundland puppy was POISONED to death to enable NSA-affiliated goons access to their cable box in the back yard unimpeded by a large watch dog. (I though my 80 year old retired Air Force, wounded Viet Nam veteran father was actually going to die of grief). I was also stalked around town and people were sent to parade up and down the street to surveille their house.
Upon my return to Maryland, the harassment was escalated to overt menacing in my private life AND at work until I "said something" about stalkers – and then, INSTEAD of taking the license plates and images I had collected and turning them over for investigation to counter-intelligence, they (Robert J. Amxxxxn's continued access security branch) immediately and without evidence, took away my clearance (19 Feb 2009). When, in my "unclassified" position, I started being able to trace the harassers directly to NSA security, they trumped up an excuse to put me on administrative leave (13 March 2009) to thwart MY investigation. After that, they went into my neighborhood and social circles to massively slander me in order to enlist "neighborhood watch groups" to stalk and harass me 24/7. This was done under the direction of contracted psychologist Joyce Waxxxr-Buxxe also in Columbia, who had profiled me and had planned the attack for them.
I was ordered by Michael J. Kilduff* (branch chief of "Special projects) to "seek mental health care" based on a trumped up, baseless, security-originated charge by a dishonest psychologist in the employ of NSA, Dr. Dina Wieczynskiski*. I have sought "care" by Dr. Harvey Rapp in Columbia, who will attest to the fact that NSA charges are completely false if not a thoroughly unprofessional and dishonest betrayal of the Hippocratic oath. He has grave concerns about the use of limitless funding and resources for the unwarranted, slanderous, round-the-clock psychological attack on one individual.
I also will note here that another psychologist, Pamela Armstrong, also in Columbia, informed me that her very worst case by far, of vicious, sadistic employer abuse, involved another woman employed by NSA. She said she would like to help me because they played the same scam on her client, but she was just too afraid of the depraved criminals at NSA to get involved again.
I would advise you to educate yourself on "Mobbing – Emotional Abuse at the American Workplace" but even more so, to educate yourself on the rise of "gang stalking" as a means for evil, unfit people in power to get around tough whistleblower laws and utterly destroy a whistleblower or a person whom a petty, vile person with far too much power wishes to destroy in his self-serving megalomania.
See:
http:// covertmaliciousstalking.blogspot.com/
There are many more sites but this is a good place to begin.
THIS is NOT America. THIS cannot stand or we will be a Nation of scoundrels and degenerates not worth saving. I have spent thousands on a home security system and other measures entirely due to this attack. And the slander has spread so far and wide that I am beginning to see mentally unbalanced people "taking license" to bully me in public places, thinking it is government-sanctioned crime.
The people at NSA who orchestrated this MUST be PROSECUTED and IMPRISONED. And every "gang stalker" punished with a penalty so severe that NO ONE will ever dare risk that again for the malicious pleasure of rogue government-induced and supported sadism and harassment. This will also serve to squelch the rise in political off-shoot arms of anti-government militias, i.e. domestic terrorists, using these tactics as well. To ignore this is a gross dereliction of duty for anyone in Homeland Security or Law.
See also "Cause Stalking" by Private Investigator, David Lawson
www.causestalking.net
davidlawson@i-will-do-it.com
NSA employee, proud to serve the REAL America,
and grateful for a free press in which to address wrongs
overlooked by government and the judicial system.
Columbia, MD 21045
* People named because their names were already in the public domain from the Wayne Madsen article from August 2005. I beleieve the polygrapher had orders to make sure I did not pass the first test because they could not afford to have me exonerate myself from the false accusation about leaking compueter information because that was the crux of their lie they intended to use to have me OVERTLY investigated, hounded and harassed, merely to cover up a sex-for-promotion scandle. They were waiting with a bogus mental health accusation when I finally said what the hell is going on and why? Ordinarily anyone with images and license plates of stalkers/harassers would be sent to Counter-intelligence to give all your evidence to for an investigation. However, that was never done for me - clearly an intentional breach in normal procedure, especially since I had identified some as working for NSA Security. The woman who was given credit for my work, was married to another GS-15 in S2J, named Larry, he apparently was pimping her out for both their careers, according to one witness... the one run down by a hit and run driver after I asked the NSA IG to interview her. Friends have told me the NSA IG viciously attacks anyone reporting an NSA manager for misconduct, the worse the misconduct, the more vicious the attack.
To the nay sayers, does this really sound like "normal, sound and ethical procedures"? This facilitates ruining GOOD, HONEST people's lives and careers in blatantly illegal retribution - just what whistle blower protection laws are supposed to protect against. But call someone crazy, even with NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER and you have cart blanche to do anything to them at all, and the police and your political representatives hide their heads in the sand and wet themselves rather than help. Maryland is the most vile and corrupt state, just perfect for an NSA police state where they can do anything... one state down, 49 to go.
Here is a letter I sent off in the summer of 2009, but i have had no response whatsoever from anyone, and I sent it far and wide.
The Director of the Office of National Intelligence
The Honorable Dennis Blair
13 June 2009
21 June 2009, Revised
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you to report a gross abuse of power, human resources, and funding for retaliation. This also has the potential, rightly so, of destroying the trust of the American people in the Homeland Security effort as a sham for the most vile traitors, seditionists, and power hungry criminals to ever be exposed in government.
I work for the National Security Agency (NSA) as a linguist/analyst. In 2002-3 I and a colleague put out about 24 reports that ultimately saved the lives of many U.S. military people and probably an untold number of foreign civilians. For unknown reasons, our own management (S2J/33) attempted to squelch this effort even when it was clear Americans would die if we did not undertake this project. The co-worker, Gary Wixxxxxxi, who came to me with the first lead information, contacted military and government leaders in the higher echelons to explain what we were sitting on and they demanded its release. He traveled the world doing technical investigations and tests on "how" and I did internet research and reports on "who, what, where, why." This enabled us to thwart the threat and save lives at a critical juncture in our history.
As a "reward", the aforementioned gentleman was chased out of the organization and I was targeted for a false security breach accusation and the destruction of my career and life for daring to have done my job well.
In 2004 a promotion board member, Lori Haxxxxxn, alleged that Robert Gaxxxr, our GS-15 Office Chief (S2J) had purposely misrepresented the work that I did on this project as that of Rita LaPxxxxe, a coworker and fellow GS-12 who had nothing to do with the project whatsoever (verifiable through Gary Wixxxxxxi, project lead). This woman became my branch chief and began to squelch my resume to hide the theft of work. In 2003 I was put forward for promotion based on my project and other works, but in 2004 under Mrs. LaPxxxxe, suddenly my work had no merit. When I asked a few questions about promotion irregularities as alleged to me by multiple people at that point, I was suddenly and publicly accused by Suzette Fxxy, my technical lead and best friend of Rita LaPxxxxe, of having leaked computer information to a local newspaper. She did this by screaming over a partition, "(my name), your article about NSA computers is in the Baltimore (Sun?/Times?)." Of course, everyone on the office heard this. When I went to her desk to ask what in the world she was talking about, she quietly replied, "Just kidding. I just thought you would like the article because you complain about the computers."
Very shortly, I was called by Security (Q group) to demand that I present myself for a polygraph. I was escorted back to the polygraph room by Joseph Fasio, Jr., who inexplicably kept us standing outside the door until the last people had left the hall, then launched into a verbal attack. As the last people he was watching disappeared into a room, Mr. Fasio leaned over me and in a threatening growl said, "I have done over 2,000 polygraphs so if you try to (pull anything/put something over on me) – I'm going to GET YOU!!!" Naturally the test was skewed by my adrenalin rush – something he had to have known when he did it. The follow-up polygraph was "indecisive" merely because it was "so very different" from the first (i.e., I passed it). The third I was told I passed, but apparently, the first was used to deceitfully attain a warrant to bug/wiretap my house, phone, cable and GPS track my car. (Details later). After several months, the investigating agents, which I assume were FBI, dropped the matter based on the fact no evidence existed any wrongdoing on MY part.
But that was not good enough for NSA. They launched into an employer harassment/stalking campaign which included aggressive driving attacks on the road by security and private (Paragon Security) contractor personnel (I have license plates and images). They even followed me down to Florida in December 2008 to wiretap my parents' phone and cable (causing disruptions 80% of the time of their ability to call 911 among other things for this 78 and 80 year old couple.) AND their 18 month old New Foundland puppy was POISONED to death to enable NSA-affiliated goons access to their cable box in the back yard unimpeded by a large watch dog. (I though my 80 year old retired Air Force, wounded Viet Nam veteran father was actually going to die of grief). I was also stalked around town and people were sent to parade up and down the street to surveille their house.
Upon my return to Maryland, the harassment was escalated to overt menacing in my private life AND at work until I "said something" about stalkers – and then, INSTEAD of taking the license plates and images I had collected and turning them over for investigation to counter-intelligence, they (Robert J. Amxxxxn's continued access security branch) immediately and without evidence, took away my clearance (19 Feb 2009). When, in my "unclassified" position, I started being able to trace the harassers directly to NSA security, they trumped up an excuse to put me on administrative leave (13 March 2009) to thwart MY investigation. After that, they went into my neighborhood and social circles to massively slander me in order to enlist "neighborhood watch groups" to stalk and harass me 24/7. This was done under the direction of contracted psychologist Joyce Waxxxr-Buxxe also in Columbia, who had profiled me and had planned the attack for them.
I was ordered by Michael J. Kilduff* (branch chief of "Special projects) to "seek mental health care" based on a trumped up, baseless, security-originated charge by a dishonest psychologist in the employ of NSA, Dr. Dina Wieczynskiski*. I have sought "care" by Dr. Harvey Rapp in Columbia, who will attest to the fact that NSA charges are completely false if not a thoroughly unprofessional and dishonest betrayal of the Hippocratic oath. He has grave concerns about the use of limitless funding and resources for the unwarranted, slanderous, round-the-clock psychological attack on one individual.
I also will note here that another psychologist, Pamela Armstrong, also in Columbia, informed me that her very worst case by far, of vicious, sadistic employer abuse, involved another woman employed by NSA. She said she would like to help me because they played the same scam on her client, but she was just too afraid of the depraved criminals at NSA to get involved again.
I would advise you to educate yourself on "Mobbing – Emotional Abuse at the American Workplace" but even more so, to educate yourself on the rise of "gang stalking" as a means for evil, unfit people in power to get around tough whistleblower laws and utterly destroy a whistleblower or a person whom a petty, vile person with far too much power wishes to destroy in his self-serving megalomania.
See:
http:// covertmaliciousstalking.blogspot.com/
There are many more sites but this is a good place to begin.
THIS is NOT America. THIS cannot stand or we will be a Nation of scoundrels and degenerates not worth saving. I have spent thousands on a home security system and other measures entirely due to this attack. And the slander has spread so far and wide that I am beginning to see mentally unbalanced people "taking license" to bully me in public places, thinking it is government-sanctioned crime.
The people at NSA who orchestrated this MUST be PROSECUTED and IMPRISONED. And every "gang stalker" punished with a penalty so severe that NO ONE will ever dare risk that again for the malicious pleasure of rogue government-induced and supported sadism and harassment. This will also serve to squelch the rise in political off-shoot arms of anti-government militias, i.e. domestic terrorists, using these tactics as well. To ignore this is a gross dereliction of duty for anyone in Homeland Security or Law.
See also "Cause Stalking" by Private Investigator, David Lawson
www.causestalking.net
davidlawson@i-will-do-it.com
NSA employee, proud to serve the REAL America,
and grateful for a free press in which to address wrongs
overlooked by government and the judicial system.
Columbia, MD 21045
* People named because their names were already in the public domain from the Wayne Madsen article from August 2005. I beleieve the polygrapher had orders to make sure I did not pass the first test because they could not afford to have me exonerate myself from the false accusation about leaking compueter information because that was the crux of their lie they intended to use to have me OVERTLY investigated, hounded and harassed, merely to cover up a sex-for-promotion scandle. They were waiting with a bogus mental health accusation when I finally said what the hell is going on and why? Ordinarily anyone with images and license plates of stalkers/harassers would be sent to Counter-intelligence to give all your evidence to for an investigation. However, that was never done for me - clearly an intentional breach in normal procedure, especially since I had identified some as working for NSA Security. The woman who was given credit for my work, was married to another GS-15 in S2J, named Larry, he apparently was pimping her out for both their careers, according to one witness... the one run down by a hit and run driver after I asked the NSA IG to interview her. Friends have told me the NSA IG viciously attacks anyone reporting an NSA manager for misconduct, the worse the misconduct, the more vicious the attack.
To the nay sayers, does this really sound like "normal, sound and ethical procedures"? This facilitates ruining GOOD, HONEST people's lives and careers in blatantly illegal retribution - just what whistle blower protection laws are supposed to protect against. But call someone crazy, even with NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER and you have cart blanche to do anything to them at all, and the police and your political representatives hide their heads in the sand and wet themselves rather than help. Maryland is the most vile and corrupt state, just perfect for an NSA police state where they can do anything... one state down, 49 to go.
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Jan 26, 2006, 11:13 AMhttp://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200601\SPE20060126a.html
NSA Whistleblowers Were Allegedly Isolated, Intimidated
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 26, 2006
(The following is the second of a two-part series on the National Security Agency's alleged abuse of employee whistleblowers.)
Read Part One: NSA Accused of Psychologically Abusing Whistleblowers
(CNSNews.com) - Whistleblowers who have stepped forward to accuse the National Security Agency of retaliating against them by falsely labeling them "paranoid," "delusional," or "psychotic," cover a range of political views. Russell D. Tice, a self-described conservative, believes President Bush should be impeached over the current controversy involving the NSA's domestic surveillance program. Another whistleblower, Diane Ring, is a staunch Bush supporter who supports the surveillance program.
Ring is a former NSA computer scientist who said she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after she ran afoul of a colonel at the Pentagon. Her case differs from the others in that she was not initially a whistleblower, but believes the retaliation arose from a personal vendetta against her. The colonel had chastised Ring for missing a briefing. When Ring explained that she had been directed by her branch chief, who was her superior, to work on a classified program during the briefing period and that the directive took priority, the official reportedly "blew up."
Ring said she was first given a "management consult," instructing her to seek counseling then was pressed to see NSA forensic psychologist Dr. John Michael Schmidt. After she lodged a complaint about the alleged retaliation with the NSA inspector general, Ring said the agency moved to revoke her security clearance, "red-badging" her. "Red-badged" employees only have access to the corridors at the NSA.
"I had just received a 4.5 out of 5.0 job evaluation rating 3 months prior," Ring told Cybercast News Service.
According to Ring, her colleagues told her in the hallways at NSA that they had been ordered not to communicate with her. Ring said she was assigned to spend her days in a room full of other "red-badgers." She believes the isolation was one part of an intentional campaign to break her and drive her out of the NSA.
For eight months, the former action officer from the Pentagon read books and magazines. "They had these red-badgers spread out all over the place. Some were sent to pump gas in the motor pool and chauffeur people around," said Ring. "In our room, some people brought sleeping bags in and slept all day long. Others read. I would think that would incense the taxpaying public."
Soon after being isolated, Ring said she began losing sleep and was ordered to undergo more psychiatric evaluations administered by Schmidt. Ring said Schmidt eventually reported that another doctor had diagnosed her with a "personality disorder," but according to Ring, she later produced a letter from that doctor who said he had never told Schmidt such a thing.
Like others in her position, Ring began to go to the NSA Employee Assistance Service (EAS) for confidential counseling about what she was going through. But a current NSA officer who spoke with Cybercast News Service on the condition of anonymity and is identified in this report as "Agent X," warned that NSA officials are able to obtain 'confidential' EAS records when they are attempting to retaliate against an employee.
"Their goal is to freak you out, to get inside your mind," X said.
Ring claims that NSA General Counsel Paul Caminos lied about her case before a judge, denying that he had sent an internal email forbidding anyone from supporting Ring. Ring said she was "floored" by Caminos' actions, comparing the process to being "shell-shocked."
"I served in Bosnia. We had mines going off all around us, all day long. That was nothing compared to this," Ring said.
She now plans to send a letter to the new NSA director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, asking that he order an investigation of her case. "This is his time to shine," said Ring. "He can really clean house."
Like "J," the linguist whose account was detailed in Part 1 of this report, Ring believes that the problem at NSA involves only a few people. "The whole lot of them is corrupt though," Ring said. "There is zero integrity in the process. And zero accountability. "
'Doing a mental'
Former NSA officer Thomas G. Reinbold confirmed that the practice of "psychiatric abuse" inside the NSA is "very widespread."
"They call it 'doing a mental' on someone," Reinbold said, and it has a "chilling effect" on other potential whistleblowers, he added. "They fear for their careers because they fear someone will write up bad [psychological] fitness reports on them."
Reinbold was labeled "paranoid" and "delusional" by Schmidt after he complained to an inspector general on Feb. 25, 1994, that the federal government was guilty of contract tampering. An evaluation conducted by Schmidt eight months earlier had concluded that Reinbold did not present a mental health or security risk, according to court documents.
Reinbold was working at the time as a contracting officer representative assigned to the Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU) at Sugar Grove, W.Va.
NSA temporarily suspended his "Sensitive Compartmented Information" (SCI) security clearance, which is more exclusive than a "Top Secret" clearance and Reinbold said he was escorted from Sugar Grove by armed naval officers.
Reinbold accused the NSA of fabricating evidence in his personnel file in order to oust him. The phony evidence, Reinbold alleged, included that he was a danger to himself and others, and that he had said "if [he] was going down, [he] would take everyone with him." During this time, Reinbold also requested that Schmidt's earlier statements, labeling him "paranoid" and "delusional" be removed from his file.
An administrative hearing held on Sept. 7, 1995, found that the revocation of Reinbold's security clearance was unjustified and that the NSA should restore both his clearance and his job. However, Reinbold was not able to get the damaging information removed from his file. He later sued, but then was forced to retire because of his diabetes. During his career, Reinbold said, he received 26 commendations and awards as well as a medal for the strategic intelligence he provided during the first Persian Gulf War.
"I gave 29 years of my life to the intelligence community," Rienbold said. "They couldn't get me out the door fast enough. There are very good people, getting screwed and going through hell," he told Cybercast News Service.
Some of the whistleblowers plan to ask U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) for help. While Diane Ring wants her job back, or at minimum, to be allowed to resign with her security clearance intact, Tice believes there is no reason for optimism. "Our time is over," Tice said he told Ring. "But we can make a difference for those who come behind us," he added.
Cybercast News Service contacted the NSA on Jan. 17 about the allegations contained in this report, including those involving the security department, the NSA inspector general, the Office of the General Counsel and staff psychologists such as Schmidt. Two days later, Don Weber, senior NSA media advisor responded. "At this time I have no information to provide; however, if that changes, I will email you soonest. Thanks for the query," Weber stated.
Dr. Don Soeken, founder and director of Integrity International, a whistleblower advocacy group, supports the public stance taken by the whistleblowers. Soeken became a whistleblower himself while employed as a psychiatric caseworker for the U.S. Public Health Service in the 1970s. He told Cybercast News Service that he discovered the government employees sent to him with diagnoses of mental illness or imbalance were actually whistleblowers who had no mental problems. Soeken's superior backed his findings, which eventually led to hearings on Capitol Hill.
"When this retaliation first starts, there's a tendency by bosses to use code words like 'delusional,' 'paranoid' and 'disgruntled'" said Soeken. "Then they use psychiatric exams to destroy them. They kill the messenger and hope the PR spin will be bought by the public."
Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit advocacy group, told Cybercast News Service that "psychiatric retaliation" is a knee-jerk reaction against whistleblowers.
"It's a classic way to implement the first rule of retaliation: shift the spotlight from the message to the messenger. We call it the 'Smokescreen Syndrome.'" Superiors investigate and brand the whistleblower for anything ranging from financial irregularities, to family problems, sexual practices, bad driving records or even failure to return library books, Devine said. "It's a form of abuse of power."
Beth Daly, senior investigator for the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), said whistleblowers in the intelligence community have no real protection due to flaws in the Whistleblower Protection Act. "You have to go through the inspector general or the director of the CIA to let them know if you're going to Congress and what you're going to disclose. And inspector generals are notorious for revealing who whistleblowers are," Daly said.
On Feb. 14, U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), chairman of the House National Security subcommittee, will begin hearings to investigate the allegations of security clearances being revoked as a form of retaliation. Vince Chase, an investigator with the subcommittee, told Cybercast News Service that three panels of witnesses would testify and that the focus would be on the lack of protections for national security agency whistleblowers.
Some intelligence agency whistleblowers had been skeptical about the proceedings, believing that their concerns would not be accurately represented by witnesses such as inspectors general. But the subcommittee has now invited Russell D. Tice to testify, as well as the organization to which he belongs, the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC).
Prof. William Weaver, senior advisor to NSWBC and a legal expert in governmental abuse, is expected to emphasize the lack of oversight and direct accountability. The Concerned Foreign Service Officers Coalition, an NSWBC partner, will be offering written testimony as well.
Former FBI language specialist Sibel Edmonds, president of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, praised the development in a letter sent Jan. 25 to supporters. "This shows once again that we may be powerless in pursuing our own individual cases and going against the monstrous government brick wall of abuse," Edmonds wrote, "but together, collectively, as a coalition of now 70+ (national security) whistleblowers, we have a voice, a mighty powerful one indeed."
Meanwhile, Agent X, Russell Tice and the other whistleblowers quoted in this report believe other former NSA employees might be better able now to come to terms with what happened. "They probably feel alone, but this shows they're not alone. There are a lot of people who this has happened to," Agent X said.
NSA Whistleblowers Were Allegedly Isolated, Intimidated
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 26, 2006
(The following is the second of a two-part series on the National Security Agency's alleged abuse of employee whistleblowers.)
Read Part One: NSA Accused of Psychologically Abusing Whistleblowers
(CNSNews.com) - Whistleblowers who have stepped forward to accuse the National Security Agency of retaliating against them by falsely labeling them "paranoid," "delusional," or "psychotic," cover a range of political views. Russell D. Tice, a self-described conservative, believes President Bush should be impeached over the current controversy involving the NSA's domestic surveillance program. Another whistleblower, Diane Ring, is a staunch Bush supporter who supports the surveillance program.
Ring is a former NSA computer scientist who said she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after she ran afoul of a colonel at the Pentagon. Her case differs from the others in that she was not initially a whistleblower, but believes the retaliation arose from a personal vendetta against her. The colonel had chastised Ring for missing a briefing. When Ring explained that she had been directed by her branch chief, who was her superior, to work on a classified program during the briefing period and that the directive took priority, the official reportedly "blew up."
Ring said she was first given a "management consult," instructing her to seek counseling then was pressed to see NSA forensic psychologist Dr. John Michael Schmidt. After she lodged a complaint about the alleged retaliation with the NSA inspector general, Ring said the agency moved to revoke her security clearance, "red-badging" her. "Red-badged" employees only have access to the corridors at the NSA.
"I had just received a 4.5 out of 5.0 job evaluation rating 3 months prior," Ring told Cybercast News Service.
According to Ring, her colleagues told her in the hallways at NSA that they had been ordered not to communicate with her. Ring said she was assigned to spend her days in a room full of other "red-badgers." She believes the isolation was one part of an intentional campaign to break her and drive her out of the NSA.
For eight months, the former action officer from the Pentagon read books and magazines. "They had these red-badgers spread out all over the place. Some were sent to pump gas in the motor pool and chauffeur people around," said Ring. "In our room, some people brought sleeping bags in and slept all day long. Others read. I would think that would incense the taxpaying public."
Soon after being isolated, Ring said she began losing sleep and was ordered to undergo more psychiatric evaluations administered by Schmidt. Ring said Schmidt eventually reported that another doctor had diagnosed her with a "personality disorder," but according to Ring, she later produced a letter from that doctor who said he had never told Schmidt such a thing.
Like others in her position, Ring began to go to the NSA Employee Assistance Service (EAS) for confidential counseling about what she was going through. But a current NSA officer who spoke with Cybercast News Service on the condition of anonymity and is identified in this report as "Agent X," warned that NSA officials are able to obtain 'confidential' EAS records when they are attempting to retaliate against an employee.
"Their goal is to freak you out, to get inside your mind," X said.
Ring claims that NSA General Counsel Paul Caminos lied about her case before a judge, denying that he had sent an internal email forbidding anyone from supporting Ring. Ring said she was "floored" by Caminos' actions, comparing the process to being "shell-shocked."
"I served in Bosnia. We had mines going off all around us, all day long. That was nothing compared to this," Ring said.
She now plans to send a letter to the new NSA director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, asking that he order an investigation of her case. "This is his time to shine," said Ring. "He can really clean house."
Like "J," the linguist whose account was detailed in Part 1 of this report, Ring believes that the problem at NSA involves only a few people. "The whole lot of them is corrupt though," Ring said. "There is zero integrity in the process. And zero accountability. "
'Doing a mental'
Former NSA officer Thomas G. Reinbold confirmed that the practice of "psychiatric abuse" inside the NSA is "very widespread."
"They call it 'doing a mental' on someone," Reinbold said, and it has a "chilling effect" on other potential whistleblowers, he added. "They fear for their careers because they fear someone will write up bad [psychological] fitness reports on them."
Reinbold was labeled "paranoid" and "delusional" by Schmidt after he complained to an inspector general on Feb. 25, 1994, that the federal government was guilty of contract tampering. An evaluation conducted by Schmidt eight months earlier had concluded that Reinbold did not present a mental health or security risk, according to court documents.
Reinbold was working at the time as a contracting officer representative assigned to the Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU) at Sugar Grove, W.Va.
NSA temporarily suspended his "Sensitive Compartmented Information" (SCI) security clearance, which is more exclusive than a "Top Secret" clearance and Reinbold said he was escorted from Sugar Grove by armed naval officers.
Reinbold accused the NSA of fabricating evidence in his personnel file in order to oust him. The phony evidence, Reinbold alleged, included that he was a danger to himself and others, and that he had said "if [he] was going down, [he] would take everyone with him." During this time, Reinbold also requested that Schmidt's earlier statements, labeling him "paranoid" and "delusional" be removed from his file.
An administrative hearing held on Sept. 7, 1995, found that the revocation of Reinbold's security clearance was unjustified and that the NSA should restore both his clearance and his job. However, Reinbold was not able to get the damaging information removed from his file. He later sued, but then was forced to retire because of his diabetes. During his career, Reinbold said, he received 26 commendations and awards as well as a medal for the strategic intelligence he provided during the first Persian Gulf War.
"I gave 29 years of my life to the intelligence community," Rienbold said. "They couldn't get me out the door fast enough. There are very good people, getting screwed and going through hell," he told Cybercast News Service.
Some of the whistleblowers plan to ask U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) for help. While Diane Ring wants her job back, or at minimum, to be allowed to resign with her security clearance intact, Tice believes there is no reason for optimism. "Our time is over," Tice said he told Ring. "But we can make a difference for those who come behind us," he added.
Cybercast News Service contacted the NSA on Jan. 17 about the allegations contained in this report, including those involving the security department, the NSA inspector general, the Office of the General Counsel and staff psychologists such as Schmidt. Two days later, Don Weber, senior NSA media advisor responded. "At this time I have no information to provide; however, if that changes, I will email you soonest. Thanks for the query," Weber stated.
Dr. Don Soeken, founder and director of Integrity International, a whistleblower advocacy group, supports the public stance taken by the whistleblowers. Soeken became a whistleblower himself while employed as a psychiatric caseworker for the U.S. Public Health Service in the 1970s. He told Cybercast News Service that he discovered the government employees sent to him with diagnoses of mental illness or imbalance were actually whistleblowers who had no mental problems. Soeken's superior backed his findings, which eventually led to hearings on Capitol Hill.
"When this retaliation first starts, there's a tendency by bosses to use code words like 'delusional,' 'paranoid' and 'disgruntled'" said Soeken. "Then they use psychiatric exams to destroy them. They kill the messenger and hope the PR spin will be bought by the public."
Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit advocacy group, told Cybercast News Service that "psychiatric retaliation" is a knee-jerk reaction against whistleblowers.
"It's a classic way to implement the first rule of retaliation: shift the spotlight from the message to the messenger. We call it the 'Smokescreen Syndrome.'" Superiors investigate and brand the whistleblower for anything ranging from financial irregularities, to family problems, sexual practices, bad driving records or even failure to return library books, Devine said. "It's a form of abuse of power."
Beth Daly, senior investigator for the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), said whistleblowers in the intelligence community have no real protection due to flaws in the Whistleblower Protection Act. "You have to go through the inspector general or the director of the CIA to let them know if you're going to Congress and what you're going to disclose. And inspector generals are notorious for revealing who whistleblowers are," Daly said.
On Feb. 14, U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), chairman of the House National Security subcommittee, will begin hearings to investigate the allegations of security clearances being revoked as a form of retaliation. Vince Chase, an investigator with the subcommittee, told Cybercast News Service that three panels of witnesses would testify and that the focus would be on the lack of protections for national security agency whistleblowers.
Some intelligence agency whistleblowers had been skeptical about the proceedings, believing that their concerns would not be accurately represented by witnesses such as inspectors general. But the subcommittee has now invited Russell D. Tice to testify, as well as the organization to which he belongs, the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC).
Prof. William Weaver, senior advisor to NSWBC and a legal expert in governmental abuse, is expected to emphasize the lack of oversight and direct accountability. The Concerned Foreign Service Officers Coalition, an NSWBC partner, will be offering written testimony as well.
Former FBI language specialist Sibel Edmonds, president of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, praised the development in a letter sent Jan. 25 to supporters. "This shows once again that we may be powerless in pursuing our own individual cases and going against the monstrous government brick wall of abuse," Edmonds wrote, "but together, collectively, as a coalition of now 70+ (national security) whistleblowers, we have a voice, a mighty powerful one indeed."
Meanwhile, Agent X, Russell Tice and the other whistleblowers quoted in this report believe other former NSA employees might be better able now to come to terms with what happened. "They probably feel alone, but this shows they're not alone. There are a lot of people who this has happened to," Agent X said.
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Jan 25, 2006, 02:49 PMhttp://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200601\SPE20060125a.html
NSA Accused of Psychologically Abusing Whistleblowers
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 25, 2006
(The following is the first of a two-part series on the National Security Agency's alleged abuse of employee whistleblowers. Part 2 will be published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006)
(CNSNews.com) - Five current and former National Security Agency (NSA) employees have told Cybercast News Service that the agency frequently retaliates against whistleblowers by falsely labeling them "delusional," "paranoid" or "psychotic."
The intimidation tactics are allegedly used to protect powerful superiors who might be incriminated by damaging information, the whistleblowers say. They also point to a climate of fear that now pervades the agency. Critics warn that because some employees blew the whistle on alleged foreign espionage and criminal activity, the "psychiatric abuse" and subsequent firings are undermining national security.
A spokesman for the NSA declined to comment about the allegations contained in this report.
The accusations of "Soviet-era tactics" are being made by former NSA intelligence analysts and action officers Russell D. Tice, Diane T. Ring, Thomas G. Reinbold, and a former employee who spoke on condition of anonymity. The allegations have been corroborated by a current NSA officer, who also insisted on anonymity, agreeing only to be referenced as "Agent X."
Tice, a former NSA intelligence analyst and action officer, first drew media attention in 2004 after the Pentagon investigated possible retaliation by the NSA against him.
The controversy began in early 2001, when Tice reported that a co-worker at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) appeared to be engaged in espionage for China.
"I saw all the classic signs," said Tice, who identified the alleged spy to Cybercast News Service. The person's identity is not being published in this article for national security reasons.
When Tice transferred to the NSA in November 2002 he continued to report his concerns. At one point, he criticized the FBI, which he labels "the Federal Buffoons and Imbeciles," for the agency's alleged incompetence. One of his emails was forwarded to NSA Security, which prompted the NSA, according to Tice, to order that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The NSA psychologist labeled him "paranoid" and "psychotic," Tice told Cybercast News Service.
That assessment, which Tice said was made by NSA forensic psychologist Dr. John Michael Schmidt, led to his security clearance being revoked and his firing.
All five whistleblowers name NSA psychologists as central players in what they allege is an ongoing abuse of authority by the NSA's Office of the General Counsel, the NSA Inspector General, the NSA internal security office and psychologists employed by the agency.
Tice's media profile quickly rose again on Jan. 10, when ABC News reported that he had been a source for the December New York Times article about a secret NSA surveillance program that was used to monitor the electronic communications of Americans suspected of contacts with terrorists.
Some leading Democrats charge that President Bush broke the law when he signed the secret order in 2002 authorizing the program, because he bypassed the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance (FISA) court. The White House contends that the president has sufficient constitutional authority to order such intelligence-gathering, as well as additional powers granted by Congress three days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Tice furnished Cybercast News Service with documents that appear to contradict the NSA's conclusion in his case. The news service verified the contents of the documents with the authors.
A letter dated Nov. 7, 2004, from clinical psychologist Dr. Evelyn Feleppa Adamo indicates that she found "no evidence" of the signs of the alleged mental disorders in Tice. On Oct. 15, 2004, licensed psychologist and family friend Dr. Sandra G. Rosswork wrote a letter indicating that she had never observed any abnormal behavior by Tice and that he was "a solid, responsible, dependable and good natured person" who was "well-liked."
A letter from Employee Assistance Service (EAS) clinical psychologist Dr. William D. Charmak notes that Tice suffered "feelings of humiliation and despair" after losing his security clearance, but did not appear to manifest paranoid symptoms. Charmak did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
An earlier confidential psychological/psychiatric report from an NSA psychologist that Tice knows only as Dr. Bache was dated July 2, 2002 and indicated that "on test results there were no indications of any outstanding difficulties." The report acknowledged that Tice had a "somewhat rigid approach to situations." The NSA declined comment on the findings of any of their psychologists.
In endorsement letters written around the time Tice's security clearance was revoked, five retired NSA and intelligence officials who worked with Tice described him as "enthusiastic," "congenial," "an engaging associate," and a "scholar of high intellectual rigor." Tice was described as possessing "sound judgment," and being well suited to the "most demanding and sensitive intelligence operations." The letters praised him for his "unparalleled professionalism" and "uncommon commitment."
"This nonsense has to stop. It's like Soviet-era torture," said Tice. "These people are vicious and sadistic. They're destroying the lives of good people, and defrauding the public of good analysts and linguists"
For a long time those who had endured the alleged abuse "were too afraid or ashamed to come forward," Tice added.
Pre-9/11 warning
Among those coming forward is a former NSA linguist who worked with the NSA for almost three decades. The former employee spoke on condition of anonymity as he is currently employed by another federal agency. He is referred in this article simply as "J."
"J" is a "hyperpolyglot" or a person who is fluent in an unusually high number of languages. Former colleagues described him as a brilliant man possessing critical skills that were "amazing."
"I believe the abuse is very widespread," said J. "The targeted person suddenly is described as 'not being a team player,' as 'disgruntled,' and then they're accused of all sorts of bizarre things. Soon they're sent to the psych people."
J first ran afoul of the process when his superiors disagreed with a report he and other agency linguists filed on Sept. 11, 1993. Their study of Arabic language messages and the flow of money out of Saudi Arabia to terrorist entities in other countries led them to conclude that Saudi extremists were plotting to attack America. "You could see, this was the pure rhetoric of Osama bin Laden and his group, the exact same group, and we had an early indication," J said.
"All of us in the group had this view of a burgeoning threat, and suddenly we were all trotted off to the office of security. Then came the call to report for a battery of psychological tests," said J.
J told Cybercast News Service that he was again summoned to undergo psychiatric evaluation after warning NSA that security measures should be taken to protect against the possibility that terrorists might try to fly airplanes into buildings.
As an example of what might happen, J said terrorists might try to fly a plane from the nearby Tipton air field in Ft. Meade, Md., into an NSA high-rise building. J said NSA officials described him as "obsessed" with the idea of a "kamikaze" threat due to the time he had spent in Japan. The month was May 2001, four months before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
A similar scenario ensued every time J's analysis countered conventional wisdom, provided a dissenting opinion or made someone feel that their job was being threatened. J said he soon developed an irregular heartbeat due to the stress of not knowing when he next would be called for another psychiatric test.
"I believe it was retaliation, but how do you prove that?" J said. He spent the last 10 years of his career at the NSA with no promotion or raise. During that time, another linguist with critical skills left out of disgust with what was happening, J added.
"Who was going to listen to us?" asked J. "Who could do anything anyway?
"I'm still afraid they're going to screw my life over," he said. "They have long tentacles. I never even owned a computer because I know what they can do. Every keystroke can be picked up."
Agent X and the 'underground network'
Agent X, a current NSA officer, confirmed the allegations and told Cybercast News Service that psychiatric abuse as a form of retaliation was "commonplace" at the agency.
"A lot of people who work there are going through the same thing. People live in fear here. They run it like some kind of Gestapo," Agent X said.
Those targeted are "yelled at, badgered and abused," X added. "These are really good people, who start to be labeled crazy, but they're telling the truth."
Agent X also alleged that the NSA plants false evidence in personnel files as part of the intimidation campaign.
The agency also maintains a "dirt database" of inconsequential but potentially embarrassing information on employees, gathered during routine clearance investigations, said Tice. The information is kept as a means of leverage, he alleged.
Agent X said that an "underground network" has developed to discuss these issues. "It's like the Nazis have taken over."
Cybercast News Service contacted the NSA on Jan. 17 about the allegations contained in this article, involving the security department, the NSA inspector general, the Office of the General Counsel and staff psychologists such as Schmidt.
Two days later, Don Weber, senior NSA media advisor responded. "At this time I have no information to provide; however, if that changes I will email you soonest. Thanks for the query," Weber stated.
(Part 2 of this series will be published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006)
NSA Accused of Psychologically Abusing Whistleblowers
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 25, 2006
(The following is the first of a two-part series on the National Security Agency's alleged abuse of employee whistleblowers. Part 2 will be published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006)
(CNSNews.com) - Five current and former National Security Agency (NSA) employees have told Cybercast News Service that the agency frequently retaliates against whistleblowers by falsely labeling them "delusional," "paranoid" or "psychotic."
The intimidation tactics are allegedly used to protect powerful superiors who might be incriminated by damaging information, the whistleblowers say. They also point to a climate of fear that now pervades the agency. Critics warn that because some employees blew the whistle on alleged foreign espionage and criminal activity, the "psychiatric abuse" and subsequent firings are undermining national security.
A spokesman for the NSA declined to comment about the allegations contained in this report.
The accusations of "Soviet-era tactics" are being made by former NSA intelligence analysts and action officers Russell D. Tice, Diane T. Ring, Thomas G. Reinbold, and a former employee who spoke on condition of anonymity. The allegations have been corroborated by a current NSA officer, who also insisted on anonymity, agreeing only to be referenced as "Agent X."
Tice, a former NSA intelligence analyst and action officer, first drew media attention in 2004 after the Pentagon investigated possible retaliation by the NSA against him.
The controversy began in early 2001, when Tice reported that a co-worker at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) appeared to be engaged in espionage for China.
"I saw all the classic signs," said Tice, who identified the alleged spy to Cybercast News Service. The person's identity is not being published in this article for national security reasons.
When Tice transferred to the NSA in November 2002 he continued to report his concerns. At one point, he criticized the FBI, which he labels "the Federal Buffoons and Imbeciles," for the agency's alleged incompetence. One of his emails was forwarded to NSA Security, which prompted the NSA, according to Tice, to order that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The NSA psychologist labeled him "paranoid" and "psychotic," Tice told Cybercast News Service.
That assessment, which Tice said was made by NSA forensic psychologist Dr. John Michael Schmidt, led to his security clearance being revoked and his firing.
All five whistleblowers name NSA psychologists as central players in what they allege is an ongoing abuse of authority by the NSA's Office of the General Counsel, the NSA Inspector General, the NSA internal security office and psychologists employed by the agency.
Tice's media profile quickly rose again on Jan. 10, when ABC News reported that he had been a source for the December New York Times article about a secret NSA surveillance program that was used to monitor the electronic communications of Americans suspected of contacts with terrorists.
Some leading Democrats charge that President Bush broke the law when he signed the secret order in 2002 authorizing the program, because he bypassed the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance (FISA) court. The White House contends that the president has sufficient constitutional authority to order such intelligence-gathering, as well as additional powers granted by Congress three days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Tice furnished Cybercast News Service with documents that appear to contradict the NSA's conclusion in his case. The news service verified the contents of the documents with the authors.
A letter dated Nov. 7, 2004, from clinical psychologist Dr. Evelyn Feleppa Adamo indicates that she found "no evidence" of the signs of the alleged mental disorders in Tice. On Oct. 15, 2004, licensed psychologist and family friend Dr. Sandra G. Rosswork wrote a letter indicating that she had never observed any abnormal behavior by Tice and that he was "a solid, responsible, dependable and good natured person" who was "well-liked."
A letter from Employee Assistance Service (EAS) clinical psychologist Dr. William D. Charmak notes that Tice suffered "feelings of humiliation and despair" after losing his security clearance, but did not appear to manifest paranoid symptoms. Charmak did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
An earlier confidential psychological/psychiatric report from an NSA psychologist that Tice knows only as Dr. Bache was dated July 2, 2002 and indicated that "on test results there were no indications of any outstanding difficulties." The report acknowledged that Tice had a "somewhat rigid approach to situations." The NSA declined comment on the findings of any of their psychologists.
In endorsement letters written around the time Tice's security clearance was revoked, five retired NSA and intelligence officials who worked with Tice described him as "enthusiastic," "congenial," "an engaging associate," and a "scholar of high intellectual rigor." Tice was described as possessing "sound judgment," and being well suited to the "most demanding and sensitive intelligence operations." The letters praised him for his "unparalleled professionalism" and "uncommon commitment."
"This nonsense has to stop. It's like Soviet-era torture," said Tice. "These people are vicious and sadistic. They're destroying the lives of good people, and defrauding the public of good analysts and linguists"
For a long time those who had endured the alleged abuse "were too afraid or ashamed to come forward," Tice added.
Pre-9/11 warning
Among those coming forward is a former NSA linguist who worked with the NSA for almost three decades. The former employee spoke on condition of anonymity as he is currently employed by another federal agency. He is referred in this article simply as "J."
"J" is a "hyperpolyglot" or a person who is fluent in an unusually high number of languages. Former colleagues described him as a brilliant man possessing critical skills that were "amazing."
"I believe the abuse is very widespread," said J. "The targeted person suddenly is described as 'not being a team player,' as 'disgruntled,' and then they're accused of all sorts of bizarre things. Soon they're sent to the psych people."
J first ran afoul of the process when his superiors disagreed with a report he and other agency linguists filed on Sept. 11, 1993. Their study of Arabic language messages and the flow of money out of Saudi Arabia to terrorist entities in other countries led them to conclude that Saudi extremists were plotting to attack America. "You could see, this was the pure rhetoric of Osama bin Laden and his group, the exact same group, and we had an early indication," J said.
"All of us in the group had this view of a burgeoning threat, and suddenly we were all trotted off to the office of security. Then came the call to report for a battery of psychological tests," said J.
J told Cybercast News Service that he was again summoned to undergo psychiatric evaluation after warning NSA that security measures should be taken to protect against the possibility that terrorists might try to fly airplanes into buildings.
As an example of what might happen, J said terrorists might try to fly a plane from the nearby Tipton air field in Ft. Meade, Md., into an NSA high-rise building. J said NSA officials described him as "obsessed" with the idea of a "kamikaze" threat due to the time he had spent in Japan. The month was May 2001, four months before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
A similar scenario ensued every time J's analysis countered conventional wisdom, provided a dissenting opinion or made someone feel that their job was being threatened. J said he soon developed an irregular heartbeat due to the stress of not knowing when he next would be called for another psychiatric test.
"I believe it was retaliation, but how do you prove that?" J said. He spent the last 10 years of his career at the NSA with no promotion or raise. During that time, another linguist with critical skills left out of disgust with what was happening, J added.
"Who was going to listen to us?" asked J. "Who could do anything anyway?
"I'm still afraid they're going to screw my life over," he said. "They have long tentacles. I never even owned a computer because I know what they can do. Every keystroke can be picked up."
Agent X and the 'underground network'
Agent X, a current NSA officer, confirmed the allegations and told Cybercast News Service that psychiatric abuse as a form of retaliation was "commonplace" at the agency.
"A lot of people who work there are going through the same thing. People live in fear here. They run it like some kind of Gestapo," Agent X said.
Those targeted are "yelled at, badgered and abused," X added. "These are really good people, who start to be labeled crazy, but they're telling the truth."
Agent X also alleged that the NSA plants false evidence in personnel files as part of the intimidation campaign.
The agency also maintains a "dirt database" of inconsequential but potentially embarrassing information on employees, gathered during routine clearance investigations, said Tice. The information is kept as a means of leverage, he alleged.
Agent X said that an "underground network" has developed to discuss these issues. "It's like the Nazis have taken over."
Cybercast News Service contacted the NSA on Jan. 17 about the allegations contained in this article, involving the security department, the NSA inspector general, the Office of the General Counsel and staff psychologists such as Schmidt.
Two days later, Don Weber, senior NSA media advisor responded. "At this time I have no information to provide; however, if that changes I will email you soonest. Thanks for the query," Weber stated.
(Part 2 of this series will be published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006)
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Jan 04, 2006, 05:25 AMNSA whistleblower Russ Tice (see article by Rebecca Carr above) was interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! on Tuesday, 3 January 2006. Audio, video, and transcript are available on-line here:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/03/1435201
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/03/1435201
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Sep 13, 2005, 04:49 AMjaepoori,
It is not surprising that there may be applicants, and even some employees, who are not psychologically suited for NSA employment. But the articles by Wayne Madsen and Rebecca Carr suggest that the NSA has misused "psychological evaluations" to retaliate against whistleblowers who have no psychological disorders.
It is not surprising that there may be applicants, and even some employees, who are not psychologically suited for NSA employment. But the articles by Wayne Madsen and Rebecca Carr suggest that the NSA has misused "psychological evaluations" to retaliate against whistleblowers who have no psychological disorders.
Posted by jaepoori
- Sep 13, 2005, 04:31 AMI was also a former NSA employee. I even worked in the same offices as Dr. John Schmidt, Dr. Moran and Dr. Wieczynski. During my time there, I have seen enough applicants with a history of drugs, and mental problems that weren't suitable for NSA. Do you really want someone like that working for you? Someone who can have the potential to be a threat is not a person you want to entrust security and trust with. I have even seen personnel coming in for their routine psych evaluation. Alot can happen between the first time you had a psych evaluation to the next one. Obviously employees were terminated/reassigned because of their behaviors.
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Sep 05, 2005, 08:20 AMWayneMadsenReport.com has published a related report dated 4 September 2005:
QuoteSeptember 4, 2005 -- The Soviet-style "psikhushka" psychiatric abuse of NSA employees continues unchecked. WMR is now able to report on yet another case of a senior NSA employee being fired from her job as a result of policy differences with a top Pentagon military officer. The NSA employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, was fired by the uncontrolled NSA Security Directorate after she had a policy difference with Marine Corps Colonel Robert A. Gearhart, Jr., the chair of the Pentagon's J6 Interoperability Policy Test Panel (IPTP) of the Joint Technology Architecture (JTA) program. The NSA employee was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination by NSA's head shrink, forensic psychologist Dr. John Schmidt. She was ordered to see the NSA psychologist by NSA's Security Directorate, run by Kemp Ensor III. NSA Security and the Psychology unit maintain an organizational linkage that permits the immediate suspension of security clearances for "troublesome" employees. According to a For Official Use Only (FOUO) NSA Security organizational chart dated January 13, 2005, which was obtained by WMR, the Office of Personnel Security (Q2) is headed by Donna M. Pucciarella. The Q23 Adjudications branch, which is in charge of psychologically abusing NSA whistleblowers, is headed by William K. Zephir. His deputy is John B. Craven. Q234, "Special Actions" for Military and Special Access Processing, is headed by Michael J. Kilduff. WMR has spoken to two other NSA career employees who received similar treatment after they brought questionable practices to the attention of senior management at Fort Meade.
The fired NSA employee was about to disclose the fraudulent funneling of billions of dollars of Pentagon JTA funds to defense contractors in violation of Federal Acquisition Regulations and Federal law.
The financial chicanery involving illegal steerage of Pentagon money to defense contractors was discovered as part of the operations of the Information Technology (IT) Systems and National Security Systems (NSS) Interoperability Test Panel (ITP), which included the fired NSA employee as a voting principal chartered member. Other voting members of the panel include representatives from the US Army, the US Navy, the US Air Force, the US Marine Corps, the US Coast Guard, the Vice Director J6, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The firing of the NSA employee over her complaints about fraud, waste, and abuse in the Pentagon and NSA fits a pattern of reprisals taken against those NSA career employees who are witnessing the wholesale outsourcing of America's most sensitive intelligence operations to companies, some with ties to hostile intelligence nations.
Posted by NSAreject
- Aug 24, 2005, 11:44 PMQuoteThese talents are truly amazing considering the overwhelming number of agency-diagnosed employees with "personality trait" problems or, in essence, "sociopaths" who have freely wandered the halls of NSA over the past years.
As a former NSA employee, this is right on the mark.
Many NSA employees are dysfunctional, as the result
of past sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. I
have heard of employees having their accesses
revolked/suspended and reassinged to the motor pool.
The whole NSA aura is way overblown; the pressure is
on - strong encryption is causing them to go deaf.
-- Edited by Administrator to correct coding problem; no text was changed.
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Aug 24, 2005, 05:33 AMIndependent journalist Wayne Madsen, a former US Navy officer who was assigned to the National Security Agency, has published an allegation of abuse by the NSA's psychologists. The following is from his website, WayneMadsenReport.com:
On 5 May 2005, Cox News service reporter Rebecca Carr, in an article published by the Pulse Journal under the title, "NSA Fires Whistleblower," reported on a case that seemingly corroborate the abuse of psychological evaluations at the NSA to revoke security clearances:
QuoteAugust 23, 2005 -- In the spirit of the Soviet "psikhushka" psychiatric hospitals where anti-regime dissidents were sent, NSA is using psychologists to eliminate independent-minded intelligence analysts and other career employees. Adverse psychiatric evaluations of experienced NSA professionals are being used by the neocons controlling the agency to gut America's signals intelligence and information security capabilities. Former NSA Director General Michael Hayden initiated this process and he was rewarded with the post of Deputy Director for National Intelligence where he can now extend his psikhushkas to other U.S. intelligence agencies.
WMR has received the following letter from a long-time NSA employee who is a victim of the psychiatric abuse:NSA's Own Nest of Cuckoos
NSA's tribe of headshrinkers consists of a trio of psychologically tortuous on-the-payroll psychologists led by Dr. John Schmidt. Dr. Marianne Moran and Dr. Dina Wieczynski are his fledgling understudies who directly execute orders from both NSA's Office of General Counsel and NSA's Office of Security. These three psychologists hold all the cards for continued access to employment but many question if these doctors are abiding by the ethics of their profession. Most unsuspecting employees targeted by NSA's network of neoconservative officials often endure repeated brutal types of mental interrogations. Reminiscent of the witch trials in past centuries, former co-workers or acquaintances of these "marked" employees for termination are welcomed to falsify statements to Federal law enforcement agents assigned to NSA. Schmidt, Moran, and Wieczynski salivate in anticipation of their next victim to abuse. All three are conducting their own sadistic method of torture; Dr. Schmidt prefers to make female subjects sexually uncomfortable, but tends to take a harsher stand with males. Dr. Moran, like Dr. Wieczynski, appears to diagnose everyone with "personality trait" disorders, despite non-Agency doctors finding to the contrary. Based on a series of documents, Dr. Wieczynski appears to have mastered the art of psychic-evaluation, where the employee doesn't even have to be present for an evaluation but she is able to give a complete "unbiased" analysis into the person's psyche. These talents are truly amazing considering the overwhelming number of agency-diagnosed employees with "personality trait" problems or, in essence, "sociopaths" who have freely wandered the halls of NSA over the past years. Particularly poetic is the fact that so many were never identified and rejected initially through the stringent security background investigations the agency conducts. On the other hand, the rising numbers of "insanity" cases could just reflect the Gestapo-like tactics generating massive paranoia throughout NSA. One former agency employee stated, "We are nothing more than lab rats for psychological testing at the whim of a hierarchy out of control . . . it is like being trapped in a fixed maze where there is no way to escape." How long will this career-fatal cat and mouse game continue?[/font]
NSA Security resorts to Soviet-style "Psikhushka" to intimidate and terminate career employees. The neocon assault on U.S. national security continues. It's beyond time to take action.
NOTE: This editor was attached to NSA in the mid-1980s. Although I have been a critic of the agency over the years -- on issues concerning NSA strictly abiding by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Constitution -- it is absolutely treasonous what is now taking place at Fort Meade. NSA is responsible for one of the most critical intelligence functions in the United States Intelligence Community -- signals intelligence, the discipline that ensured America's military victories in World War II. The neocons are not only rifling through sensitive raw intercepts of the personal communications of U.S. citizens but they are now conducting a purge of independent-minded intelligence analysts and technicians at NSA who refuse to kowtow to the "new normality" of quasi-fascist control of the United States Intelligence Community. Combine this neocon abuse at NSA with the outing of non-official cover CIA agents, punishing national security whistleblowers, and other outrages, and one must conclude that the neocons are extremely dangerous elements within the United States government and they must be held accountable for their destructive actions.
I am kicking off a letter campaign to the Congress when it returns from recess after Labor Day. It calls on Congress to immediately pass legislation requiring the Director of National Intelligence to order an immediate halt to and retroactive (to include the past three years) reversal of all personnel actions within the U.S. intelligence community that are based on blatant political vendettas. I will personally hand-deliver the letter to the relevant committees on intelligence, government affairs, and armed services. If you are a current or past member of the U.S. intelligence community (including military service and law enforcement elements) and would like to sign on, please send you name, city and state where you vote, and agency and division (if classified, merely send the cover title), and years of service to waynemadsendc@hotmail.com. If you reside abroad, state your home of record (birth place or city and state where you cast your absentee ballot). If you are a current member of the U.S. intelligence community and wish to remain anonymous, merely provide your agency and city and state where you vote.
Dear Senator/Representative [XXXXXXX]
We, the undersigned members and veterans of the U.S. Intelligence Community are writing you to request that legislation be introduced that would require the Director of National Intelligence to order an immediate halt to politically-motivated adverse personnel actions that are directed against career members of the U.S. Intelligence Community. A number of experienced intelligence professionals who have strictly followed departmental and agency rules and regulations and demonstrated their commitment to the the Constitution and the national security of the United States have been victimized by an Intelligence Community-wide program of intimidation, psychological abuse, revocation of their security clearances, and wrongful termination. This witch hunt and purge must stop. We are also asking that all politically-motivated terminations of intelligence professionals over the past three years be immediately reversed by the Director of National Intelligence and a review of the individual circumstances of the adverse actions be conducted by a special congressionally-chartered commission staffed by professional mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Respectfully,
Wayne Madsen, Arlington, VA, (LT, USN, National Security Agency 1984-85).[/size]
On 5 May 2005, Cox News service reporter Rebecca Carr, in an article published by the Pulse Journal under the title, "NSA Fires Whistleblower," reported on a case that seemingly corroborate the abuse of psychological evaluations at the NSA to revoke security clearances:
QuoteNSA fires whistleblower
By REBECCA CARR
Cox News Service
Thursday, May 05, 2005
WASHINGTON—The National Security Agency fired a high level intelligence official just days after he publicly urged Congress to pass stronger protections for federal whistleblowers facing retaliation.
Russ Tice, 43, who was once nominated for an award by the agency for his intelligence work on Iraq, was informed Tuesday that his security clearances had been permanently revoked and that he could no longer work at the secretive intelligence agency known for its eavesdropping and code-breaking capabilities.
Tice has been at the odds with the agency since he reported suspicions that a female co-worker at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was a spy for the People's Republic of China.
Tice, a 20-year veteran of the federal intelligence agencies, worked at DIA until 2002. He made his initial report about the suspected spy at DIA after noticing that a co-worker voiced sympathies for China, traveled extensively abroad and displayed affluence beyond her means.
Last week, Tice joined other federal employees from national security agencies on Capitol Hill to raise concerns that whistleblowers are being punished for stepping forward. The whistleblowers pointed out that the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act does not cover federal employees who work in the nation's intelligence community.
" In a time of danger, literally brought to our very shores, abuses such as these, should not be tolerated," said Tice, speaking at a press conference following a meeting with congressional staffers.
Is there a connection between his public speech last week and his termination?
Sibel Edmonds, the leader of the newly formed National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, believes so.
"They try to use the fear factor: Don't go to the Congress. If you do, this is what will happen to you," said Edmonds, who was fired by the FBI in 2002 after reporting suspected espionage and misconduct. "By doing this they send a chilling message to anyone who wants to step forward."
Edmonds vowed to help find legal representation for Tice. The Defense Department's Inspector General's Civil Reprisal Investigations unit is also examining his claims of retaliation.
In June, 2003, the agency suspended his security clearances and ordered him to maintain the agency's vehicles by pumping gas and cleaning them. Last month, they ordered him to unload furniture at its warehouses.
Tice's firing raises concerns for all federal whistleblowers, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group based in Washington. "To receive this type of humiliation is a terrible message to anyone else who is handling the very important work that they do."
In response to requests for comment, the NSA sent an e-mail stating that the "NSA has no information to provide about personnel matters and does not comment on actual or alleged case facts regarding current or former affiliates."
In an interview, Tice said his statements last week, "hastened the process," but he had expected it for some time.
In April 2003, Tice sent an e-mail to the DIA agent handling his suspicions about a co-worker being a Chinese spy. He was prompted to do so by a news report about two FBI agents who were arrested for giving classified information to a Chinese double agent.
"At the time, I sent an e-mail to Mr. James (the person at DIA handling his complaint) questioning the competence of counterintelligence at FBI," Tice wrote in a document submitted to the Inspector General. In the e-mail, he mentioned that he suspected that he was the subject of electronic monitoring.
Shortly after sending the e-mail, an NSA security officer ordered him to report for "a psychological evaluation" even though he had just gone through one nine months earlier. Tice believes James called NSA to ask them "to go after him" on their behalf.
When Tice called Mr. James to confront him about calling the NSA security official, he told Tice that "there was reason to be concerned" about his suspicion about his former co-worker.
The Defense Department psychologist concluded that Tice suffered from psychotic paranoia, according to Tice. "He did this even though he admitted that I did not show any of the normal indications of someone suffering from paranoia," Tice wrote in a statement to the inspector general.
"I knew my from that day that my career was over," said Tice, who has worked in intelligence since he graduated from the University of Maryland in 1985. His job at NSA was so top secret that he could not even reveal his title.
In the summer of 2003, Tice told the NSA that he was considering talking to his congressional representatives about waste and abuse at NSA security. He was told that he would face retaliation if he did so, Tice wrote in his statement to the inspector general.
A few weeks after contacting Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the retaliation intensified, he said. The NSA even sent an agent to his home to "threaten me in person with unspecified actions if I went to the press," Tice said.
In August 2004, the agency suspended Tice's clearance. They sent him to the "motor pool' for eight months where he was assigned to fill up NSA vehicles with gas, check fluids and drive around "the bigwigs," on occasion, Tice said in an interview.
He was then put on administrative leave for 14 months. Last month he was re-assigned to the NSA's warehouse where he was ordered to unload furniture from trucks.
"I reported my suspicion and got blown off," Tice said. "I pushed the issue and that ticked them off, the fact that I questioned their almighty wisdom."
On the Web:
Project on Government Oversight: www.pogo.org
Rebecca Carr's e-mail address is rcarr(at)coxnews.com