John Crane is a former Assistant Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense known for his advocacy on behalf of government

whistleblowers A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

. He was fired in 2013 and now works for the

Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower protection and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded in 1977. Activities In 1992, GAP represented Aldric Saucier, who had lost his job and security cl ...

, a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

whistleblower support organization.

Career

Crane graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

with a bachelor's degree in

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asia ...

in 1980. He then studied at the Arabic Language Unit of the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning progra ...

from 1980-82. Crane worked as press secretary for

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Bill Dickinson Bill Dickinson (1917 – 7 April 1994) was a Scottish rugby union player and coach. He was appointed the first official national coach of in 1971.Bath, p133 Richard Bath points out that Dickinson's appointment made an "immediate impact" in ...

, ranking member on the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

, from 1985-87. Dickinson advocated establishing an Office of the Inspector General in the Defense Department., a translation of the German article in ''Der Spiegel'' No. 21/2016 (May 21, 2016). When that office was created in 1982, Crane became one of its first employees, helping to set up the

hotline A hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook. An example would be a phone that auto ...

s for whistleblowers to report waste, fraud, or abuse. He had the text of the

Whistleblower Protection Act The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)-(9), Pub.L. 101-12 as amended, is a United States federal law that protects federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report the possible existence of an activity constit ...

of 1989 printed up as pamphlets for the personnel in the IG's office to refer to in carrying out their responsibilities. Crane's work also included crafting committee press releases involving analysis of the

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

and consequences for national defense policy. In 1987, Crane became Legislative Director and Press Secretary for

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...

Congressman

Ernie Konnyu Ernest Leslie Konnyu (born May 17, 1937) is an American businessman and former Republican U.S. Representative from Silicon Valley, California, 12th congressional district, serving one term from 1987 to 1989. He had previously been a California ...

, where he did supervisory work on formulating legislative policy agenda and communications thereof. By 1988, Crane moved to the Defense Department's Inspector General office as a Congressional Liaison. He represented the IG on congressional activities and legislation as well as in contacts on legislative and public affairs with the

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out aut ...

. In 1994 Crane was promoted to Director of the Office of Communication in the IG. He managed public affairs efforts including public statements and congressional testimonies regarding US activities in

Southwest Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. He was promoted to a high-level executive position, the Assistant Inspector General for Communications, in 2004. He administered change management and communication policy for Europe, Southwest Asia, and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. He also performed strategic planning and was Principal Advisor to the IG. He was responsible for whistleblowing and transparency, including strategic (internal) and public affairs communications that included responses regarding the

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigen ...

(FOIA) and Privacy Acts. Crane reviewed legislation and advised on legislative changes. He was fired from his post as an assistant inspector general in February 2013, an action he claims came in response to his advocacy on behalf of whistleblowers who faced illegal reprisal from his superiors in the IG and from other areas of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...

. In October 2013, Crane joined the Government Accountability Project (GAP) as a consultant on legislative impact analysis. At GAP, he works with whistleblowers related to

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

and on legislative, FOIA, and Privacy Act impacts. Crane earned an Executive Master's in leadership from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

in 2015.

Whistleblower program official becomes whistleblower

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

went to the press with revelations about the NSA due to the experience of previous whistleblowers, such as

Thomas Andrews Drake Thomas Andrews Drake (born 1957) is a former senior executive of the National Security Agency (NSA), a decorated United States Air Force and United States Navy veteran, and a whistleblower. In 2010, the government alleged that Drake mishandled doc ...

, William Binney, J. Kirk Wiebe, Ed Loomis, and

Diane Roark Diane Roark is an American whistleblower who served as a Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee from 1985 to 2002. She was, right after 9/11, "the House Intelligence Committee staffer in charge of oversight of the NSA". In late ...

, who initially reported their concerns within the system and faced intense retaliation. After making his concerns about mistreatment of whistleblowers known to his superiors, Crane was removed from his position in 2013. He was a recipient of the 2015

Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage The Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage is presented annually by The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest. The Callaway Award "recognizes individuals who take a public stance to advance truth and justice, at some personal risk". Th ...

.Joe A. Callaway Awards For Civic Courage Past-Winners
''Calloway Awards'', 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2019. He is a major focus of

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

Mark Hertsgaard's book, ''Bravehearts: Whistle-blowing in the Age of Snowden''.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links