Monday, June 19, 2006

ACLU Whistleblowers   [John J. Miller]

The delightful saga of the ACLU's efforts to place a gag order on its own board members continues. Here's the lede from a story in today's NYT:

A lawyer in the New York state attorney general's office informally warned the American Civil Liberties Union that his office had concerns about proposed standards that would limit the group's board members from speaking publicly about policies and internal operations, according to three board members

One of these "three board members" is Wendy Kaminer. The other two "were granted anonymity because they were afraid to speak publicly given the pending proposals." They aren't afraid of the state attorney general's office, but of the ACLU itself.

Just a few weeks ago, of course, the ACLU was condemning the Supreme Court for limiting the rights of government whistleblowers:

"In an era of excessive government secrecy, the court has made it easier to engage in a government cover-up by discouraging internal whistle-blowing," said Steven Shapiro, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Maybe the ACLU needs a new motto: Do as we say, not as we do.

06/19 05:20 AMShare