Thomas A. Drake

Thomas A. Drake
BornThomas Andrews Drake
(1957-04-22) April 22, 1957 (age 67)
Louisiana, United States
OccupationFormer senior executive of the National Security Agency
NationalityAmerican
Notable awardsMilitary:
Meritorious Service Medal[1]
Air Medal[1]
Air Force Commendation Medal[1]
Civilian:
Ridenhour prize[2]
Sam Adams Award[3]

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 documents, one of the few such Espionage Act cases in U.S. history.[4][5][6] Drake's defenders claim that he was instead being persecuted for challenging the Trailblazer Project.[7][8][9] He is the 2011 recipient of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling and co-recipient of the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence (SAAII) award.

On June 9, 2011, all 10 original charges against him were dropped. Drake rejected several deals because he refused to "plea bargain with the truth". He eventually pleaded to one misdemeanor count for exceeding authorized use of a computer;[10] Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project, who helped represent him, called it an act of civil disobedience.[11]

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  3. ^ Blaylock, Dylan (2011-11-17). "Radack, Drake Win Sam Adams Award". Government Accountability Project. Archived from the original on 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
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  11. ^ Jesselyn Radack, Daily Kos blog, 2011 6 11