Russ Tice
Encyclopedia
Russell D. Tice is a former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force, Office of Naval Intelligence
, Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA) and National Security Agency
(NSA). During his nearly 20 year career with various United States
government agencies, he conducted intelligence missions related to the Kosovo War
, Afghanistan
, the USS Cole bombing
in Yemen
, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In December, 2005, Tice helped spark a national controversy over claims that the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional wiretap
s on American citizens. He later admitted that he was one of the sources that were used in the New York Times' reporting on the wiretap activity in December 2005.
Tice began to receive national attention as a whistleblower
in May 2005, after speaking publicly about alleged retaliation by government officials for reporting his suspicions that a DIA colleague might be a Chinese
spy
, and about the need for legislation to protect whistleblowers.
, traveled extensively abroad and displayed affluence beyond her means. Tice said he "basically got blown off by the counterintelligence office at D.I.A.", but he continued to push the issue until he was transferred to the NSA in 2002.
In April 2003, while Tice was still working at the NSA, an FBI investigation into a Chinese double agent in Los Angeles
named Katrina Leung
had become international news. She had been receiving classified information from two FBI agents. These revelations of Chinese spying prompted Tice to raise his concerns again.
In a 'secure' e-mail message to the DIA counterintelligence office, he demanded to know what had happened as a result of the 2001 report he had filed outlining his suspicions about his former co-worker (not to be confused with Leung). "At the time, I sent an e-mail to Mr. James (the DIA official handling his complaint) questioning the competence of counterintelligence at FBI," Tice wrote to the Inspector General of the Pentagon
's Civil Reprisal Investigation unit, which investigated his 2003 complaint. In the e-mail, he mentioned that he suspected that he was the subject of electronic monitoring.
In April, 2003, shortly after the e-mail message, Tice was ordered to undertake a psychological evaluation
, which he believed was retaliatory. The Defense Department psychologist concluded that Tice suffered from psychotic paranoia
. "He did this even though he admitted that I did not show any of the normal indications of someone suffering from paranoia," Tice said in a statement to the Inspector General.
Two months later, in June, 2003, the NSA suspended his security clearance
s and ordered him to tasks such as maintaining the agency's vehicles, pumping gas, and driving officials around. By April 2005, after 14 months of paid leave, Tice was relegated to unloading furniture at the NSA's warehouses and cleaning them.
In December, 2005, Tice alleged the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional conduct against the American people, and helped spark a national controversy. Tice stated that the activities involved the Director of the NSA, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special access program
s (SAP), more commonly referred to as 'black world' programs, or 'black ops'. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.
On December 16, the New York Times revealed that the NSA was engaged in a clandestine eavesdropping program that bypassed the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. Media reports on January 10, 2006, indicated Tice was a source of the Times leak, which revealed that, under the direction of the White House
and without requisite court orders, the NSA has been intercepting international communications to and from points within the US.
Tice's resume was unclassified which had "shown" that he was in Space Communications. When asked about whether he's connected with Space Communications in any way in an interview on the website for Wired Magazine, he responded, "I watch Buck Rogers."
In a letter dated December 18, 2005, to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and to Senator Pat Roberts
, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, he said he was prepared to testify about the SAP programs, under the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act
. It is not known, however, what the testimony would specifically involve.
It has been assumed that the problem concerned the electronic surveillance of Americans, but in an interview published 13 January 2006 on the reasononline web site, Tice said "there's no way the programs I want to talk to Congress about should be public ever, unless maybe in 200 years they want to declassify them. You should never learn about it; no one at the Times should ever learn about these things. But that same mechanism that allows you to have a program like this at an extremely high, sensitive classification level could also be used to mask illegality, like spying on Americans."
In a press release issued by the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
on December 22, 2005, Tice explained the public aspect of his charges, stating that:
On December 23, 2005, the Austin American-Statesman
, reported Tice's allegations that spying on Americans may involve a massive computer system known as ECHELON
, which is able to search and filter hundreds of thousands of phone calls and e-mails in a matter of seconds.
On January 3, 2006, Tice appeared on the national radio/TV show Democracy Now and said he wants to testify before Congress. Tice said "I'm involved with some certain aspects of the intelligence community, which are very closely held, and I believe I have seen some things that are illegal."
On January 5, 2006, the Washington Times reported that Tice wants to testify before Congress about electronic intelligence programs that he asserts were carried out illegally by the NSA and DIA. "I intend to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency and with the Defense Intelligence Agency," Tice stated in letters, dated December 16, 2005 and disclosed by the Times.
In a letter dated January 10, 2006, Renee Seymour, Director of the NSA Special Access Programs Central Office, warned Tice that members of neither the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, nor of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had clearance to receive the classified information about the SAP's that Tice was prepared to provide. An article by Chris Strohm in Government Executive says that some Congressional staffers believe that Tice "comes with baggage".
In reaction to Tice's claims, Rush Limbaugh
and Bill O'Reilly
, two prominent figures in conservative media, launched an offensive against his credibility. On his Fox News broadcast of January 11, 2006, O'Reilly said that Tice should be jailed for his whistleblowing activity. But Tice told ABC News that "As far as I'm concerned, as long as I don't say anything that's classified, I'm not worried... We need to clean up the intelligence community. We've had abuses, and they need to be addressed."
On February 14, 2006, UPI reports Tice testified to the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations that the Special Access Program might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights, but that neither the committee members nor the NSA inspector general had clearance to review the program.
On May 12, 2006, thinkprogress.org reported a story by CongressDaily in which Tice was said to be planning an appearance the next week before the Senate Armed Service Committee, when further revelations would be made on "a different angle" of the NSA's surveillance program. Ultimately this did not occur and it is still unclear why.
On July 26, 2006, he was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury regarding violations of federal law. He reportedly said “This latest action by the government is designed only for one purpose: to ensure that people who witness criminal action being committed by the government are intimidated into remaining silent.”
On the first of two consecutive appearances on MSNBC
's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
(January 21 and January 22, 2009), Russ Tice stated that while he worked in the NSA, his role was to follow the communications of specific individuals in a program separate from the one that had been previously disclosed. He stated that he initially understood that he was to identify the communication methods of journalists (and entire news organizations) so that they could avoid collection. He subsequently learned that these channels were being recorded 24/7. Since this appeared to be a political and not security operation of the NSA, Tice withheld disclosing it until the next administration. Tice also stated that programs were given dual military and intelligence status so that both types of congressional oversight could be simultaneously denied.
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
, Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
(DIA) and National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA). During his nearly 20 year career with various United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government agencies, he conducted intelligence missions related to the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the USS Cole bombing
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In December, 2005, Tice helped spark a national controversy over claims that the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional wiretap
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
s on American citizens. He later admitted that he was one of the sources that were used in the New York Times' reporting on the wiretap activity in December 2005.
Tice began to receive national attention as a whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
in May 2005, after speaking publicly about alleged retaliation by government officials for reporting his suspicions that a DIA colleague might be a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, and about the need for legislation to protect whistleblowers.
Alleged reprisals
In early 2001, Tice first reported his suspicions about a young woman he worked with at the DIA whom he believed to be a Chinese spy. He claimed that the woman voiced sympathies for People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, traveled extensively abroad and displayed affluence beyond her means. Tice said he "basically got blown off by the counterintelligence office at D.I.A.", but he continued to push the issue until he was transferred to the NSA in 2002.
In April 2003, while Tice was still working at the NSA, an FBI investigation into a Chinese double agent in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
named Katrina Leung
Katrina Leung
Katrina Leung was a former high value Federal Bureau of Investigation and PRC Ministry of State Security agent who, on April 9, 2003, was indicted by the United States Department of Justice for "Unauthorized Copying of National Defense Information with Intent to Injure or Benefit a Foreign...
had become international news. She had been receiving classified information from two FBI agents. These revelations of Chinese spying prompted Tice to raise his concerns again.
In a 'secure' e-mail message to the DIA counterintelligence office, he demanded to know what had happened as a result of the 2001 report he had filed outlining his suspicions about his former co-worker (not to be confused with Leung). "At the time, I sent an e-mail to Mr. James (the DIA official handling his complaint) questioning the competence of counterintelligence at FBI," Tice wrote to the Inspector General of the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
's Civil Reprisal Investigation unit, which investigated his 2003 complaint. In the e-mail, he mentioned that he suspected that he was the subject of electronic monitoring.
In April, 2003, shortly after the e-mail message, Tice was ordered to undertake a psychological evaluation
Psychological evaluation
A psychological evaluation or mental examination is an examination into a person's mental health by a mental health professional such as a psychologist. A psychological evaluation may result in a diagnosis of a mental illness...
, which he believed was retaliatory. The Defense Department psychologist concluded that Tice suffered from psychotic paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
. "He did this even though he admitted that I did not show any of the normal indications of someone suffering from paranoia," Tice said in a statement to the Inspector General.
Two months later, in June, 2003, the NSA suspended his security clearance
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
s and ordered him to tasks such as maintaining the agency's vehicles, pumping gas, and driving officials around. By April 2005, after 14 months of paid leave, Tice was relegated to unloading furniture at the NSA's warehouses and cleaning them.
Whistleblower
Tice was terminated by the NSA in May, 2005, just days after publicly urging Congress to pass stronger protections for federal intelligence agency whistleblowers facing retaliation. In September, 2005, the inspector general issued an unclassified report that found "no evidence" to support Tice's claims.In December, 2005, Tice alleged the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional conduct against the American people, and helped spark a national controversy. Tice stated that the activities involved the Director of the NSA, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special access program
Special access program
Special access programs in the Federal Government of the United States of America are security protocols that provides highly classified information with safeguards and access restrictions that exceed those for regular classified information...
s (SAP), more commonly referred to as 'black world' programs, or 'black ops'. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.
On December 16, the New York Times revealed that the NSA was engaged in a clandestine eavesdropping program that bypassed the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. Media reports on January 10, 2006, indicated Tice was a source of the Times leak, which revealed that, under the direction of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and without requisite court orders, the NSA has been intercepting international communications to and from points within the US.
Tice's resume was unclassified which had "shown" that he was in Space Communications. When asked about whether he's connected with Space Communications in any way in an interview on the website for Wired Magazine, he responded, "I watch Buck Rogers."
In a letter dated December 18, 2005, to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and to Senator Pat Roberts
Pat Roberts
Charles Patrick "Pat" Roberts is the senior United States Senator from Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he has served since 1997...
, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, he said he was prepared to testify about the SAP programs, under the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act
Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act
The Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, amending the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 and the Inspector General Act of 1978, sets forth a procedure for employees and contractors of specified federal intelligence agencies to report complaints or information to...
. It is not known, however, what the testimony would specifically involve.
It has been assumed that the problem concerned the electronic surveillance of Americans, but in an interview published 13 January 2006 on the reasononline web site, Tice said "there's no way the programs I want to talk to Congress about should be public ever, unless maybe in 200 years they want to declassify them. You should never learn about it; no one at the Times should ever learn about these things. But that same mechanism that allows you to have a program like this at an extremely high, sensitive classification level could also be used to mask illegality, like spying on Americans."
In a press release issued by the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition , founded in 2004 by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds in league with over 50 former and current United States government officials from more than a dozen agencies, is an independent, nonpartisan alliance of whistleblowers who have come forward to...
on December 22, 2005, Tice explained the public aspect of his charges, stating that:
- "As a Signals IntelligenceSIGINTSignals intelligence is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people , whether involving electronic signals not directly used in communication , or combinations of the two...
(SIGINT) officer it is continually drilled into us that the very first law chiseled in the SIGINT equivalent of the Ten Commandments (USSID-18) is that Thou shall not spy on American persons without a court order from FISA. This law is continually drilled into each NSA intelligence officer throughout his or her career. The very people that lead the National Security Agency have violated this holy edictEdictAn edict is an announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism. The Pope and various micronational leaders are currently the only persons who still issue edicts.-Notable edicts:...
of SIGINT."
On December 23, 2005, the Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
, reported Tice's allegations that spying on Americans may involve a massive computer system known as ECHELON
ECHELON
ECHELON is a name used in global media and in popular culture to describe a signals intelligence collection and analysis network operated on behalf of the five signatory states to the UK–USA Security Agreement...
, which is able to search and filter hundreds of thousands of phone calls and e-mails in a matter of seconds.
On January 3, 2006, Tice appeared on the national radio/TV show Democracy Now and said he wants to testify before Congress. Tice said "I'm involved with some certain aspects of the intelligence community, which are very closely held, and I believe I have seen some things that are illegal."
On January 5, 2006, the Washington Times reported that Tice wants to testify before Congress about electronic intelligence programs that he asserts were carried out illegally by the NSA and DIA. "I intend to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency and with the Defense Intelligence Agency," Tice stated in letters, dated December 16, 2005 and disclosed by the Times.
In a letter dated January 10, 2006, Renee Seymour, Director of the NSA Special Access Programs Central Office, warned Tice that members of neither the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, nor of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had clearance to receive the classified information about the SAP's that Tice was prepared to provide. An article by Chris Strohm in Government Executive says that some Congressional staffers believe that Tice "comes with baggage".
In reaction to Tice's claims, Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
, two prominent figures in conservative media, launched an offensive against his credibility. On his Fox News broadcast of January 11, 2006, O'Reilly said that Tice should be jailed for his whistleblowing activity. But Tice told ABC News that "As far as I'm concerned, as long as I don't say anything that's classified, I'm not worried... We need to clean up the intelligence community. We've had abuses, and they need to be addressed."
On February 14, 2006, UPI reports Tice testified to the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations that the Special Access Program might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights, but that neither the committee members nor the NSA inspector general had clearance to review the program.
On May 12, 2006, thinkprogress.org reported a story by CongressDaily in which Tice was said to be planning an appearance the next week before the Senate Armed Service Committee, when further revelations would be made on "a different angle" of the NSA's surveillance program. Ultimately this did not occur and it is still unclear why.
On July 26, 2006, he was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury regarding violations of federal law. He reportedly said “This latest action by the government is designed only for one purpose: to ensure that people who witness criminal action being committed by the government are intimidated into remaining silent.”
On the first of two consecutive appearances on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
(January 21 and January 22, 2009), Russ Tice stated that while he worked in the NSA, his role was to follow the communications of specific individuals in a program separate from the one that had been previously disclosed. He stated that he initially understood that he was to identify the communication methods of journalists (and entire news organizations) so that they could avoid collection. He subsequently learned that these channels were being recorded 24/7. Since this appeared to be a political and not security operation of the NSA, Tice withheld disclosing it until the next administration. Tice also stated that programs were given dual military and intelligence status so that both types of congressional oversight could be simultaneously denied.
See also
- Psychiatric reprisal
- Thomas TammThomas TammThomas Tamm is a former lawyer in the United States Department of Justice's Office of Intelligence Policy and Review during the period in 2004 when senior Justice officials fought against the widening scope of warrantless NSA surveillance—and was the anonymous initial whistleblower to The...
- Thomas Andrews DrakeThomas Andrews DrakeThomas Andrews Drake is a former senior official of the U.S. National Security Agency , decorated United States Air Force and United States Navy veteran, computer software expert, linguist, management and leadership specialist, and whistleblower. In 2010 the government alleged that he 'mishandled'...
- Hepting v. AT&THepting v. AT&THepting v. AT&T is a United States class action lawsuit filed in January 2006 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against the telecommunications company AT&T, in which the EFF alleges that AT&T permitted and assisted the National Security Agency in unlawfully monitoring the communications of...
- Room 641ARoom 641ARoom 641A is an intercept facility operated by AT&T for the U.S. National Security Agency, beginning in 2003. Room 641A is located in the SBC Communications building at 611 Folsom Street, San Francisco, three floors of which were occupied by AT&T before SBC purchased AT&T...
External links
- FederalTimes.com - 'Whistleblower to be fired, watchdogs say', Stephen Losey, Federal TimesFederal TimesFederal Times is the premier source of information for senior U.S. government managers on trends and issues facing them in their job performance and career. Federal Times is part of Army Times Publishing Company, which is a part of the Gannett Company ....
(May 9, 2005) - PulseJournal.com - 'NSA fires whistleblower', Rebecca Carr, Cox News Service (May 5, 2005)
- Democracy Now - transcript/video/MP3 of interview with Tice conducted by Amy Goodman about NSA Spying (January 3, 2006)
- WashTimes.com - 'NSA whistleblower asks to testify', Bill Gertz, Washington Times, (January 5, 2006)
- ABC News - 'NSA Whistleblower Alleges Illegal Spying', Brian Ross, ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, (January 10, 2006) - UPI - 'Whistleblower says NSA violations bigger', UPI, (February 15, 2006)
- In These Times - 'NSA Thwarts Whistleblower', Leah A Nelson, In These TimesIn These TimesIn These Times is a politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published by the Institute for Public Affairs in Chicago...
, (May 15, 2006)