The letter said the public disclosure of sensitive but unclassified information, like documents labeled 'For Official Use Only,' is protected under the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act when it shows government wrongdoing. Even employees who know their rights may be intimidated from speaking out of fear of being accused of violating agency policy or being reported by their colleagues.' 'Employees reading this DHS communication may not understand that their right to make protected whistleblower disclosures supersedes restrictions your directive places on this right. 'The ramifications of this violation should not be trivialized as merely semantical omissions,' the letter said. In their letter, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 119 and the Government Accountability Project criticized Alles' memo for failing to acknowledge that there are legal safeguards for whistleblowers, which they said supersede any 'non-disclosure policies.' These disclosures could also damage our national security, impede our ability to protect the homeland, aid our adversaries, reveal our sources and methods, and potentially jeopardize the safety of our personnel and the American people,' Alles wrote in his email, which was first reported by BuzzFeed News.Īlles urged DHS employees to report colleagues 'you suspect' of leaking classified, draft or sensitive information to 'unauthorized personnel,' and take note of incidents in which colleagues ask for information 'outside the scope' of their responsibilities. 'Unauthorized disclosures violate DHS policy and potentially federal law. 'When an agency unlawfully gags its employees, it threatens Congress's ability to engage in oversight hampers citizens' right to know about serious misconduct and threats to public safety and undermines policy-making that depends on the information of whistleblowers,' the letter obtained by CBS News said. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees and the Government Accountability Project, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, urged DHS leadership to withdraw the directive, saying it violates legal protections for government whistleblowers and creates a chilling effect for the workforce. In a letter Thursday, the national council representing thousands of U.S.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees are calling on their leadership to rescind a recent directive instructing them to report colleagues they suspect of leaking sensitive government information, referring to it as an 'illegal gag order.'

White house knowledge gag order leak