The Homeland Security Department takes a break from protecting the nation’s fax machines — to protect itself from media scrutiny.
Last month, a security officer who guards DHS headquarters went on NBC Nightly News to blow the whistle on lax security practices there. The very next day, his fellow guards were told to sign secrecy oaths, called “non-disclosure agreements,” Congressional Quarterly‘s Patrick Yoest reports.
“The timing raises questions about whether DHS and Wackenhut [the guard’s employer] misused the agreements and ignored whistleblower protections in an effort to prevent the guards from disclosing additional information about security lapses at DHS headquarters,” notes Yoest.
“It was supposed to be to keep the guards from talking to the press,” said one current guard, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of losing employment at DHS. “The purpose was, from that point on, there would be no guard who would give access to the media or have an interview of any kind.”
Another guard, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wackenhut had coerced employees to sign the agreement.
“They kind of put us between a rock and a hard place,” the guard said, adding that Wackenhut supervisors had in effect told guards to “sign this, or we’re going to do something detrimental to your job.”
