John Crane

John Crane is a former Assistant Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense known for his advocacy on behalf of government whistleblowers. He was fired in 2013 and now works for the Government Accountability Project, a non-governmental whistleblower support organization.

Career Crane graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in Asian studies in 1980. He then studied at the Arabic Language Unit of the American University in Cairo from 1980 to 1982.

Crane worked as press secretary for Republican Congressman Bill Dickinson, ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, from 1985 to 1987. Dickinson advocated establishing an Office of the Inspector General in the Defense Department. When that office was created in 1982, Crane became one of its first employees, helping to set up the hotlines for whistleblowers to report waste, fraud, or abuse. He had the text of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 printed up as pamphlets for the personnel in the IG's office to refer to in carrying out their responsibilities. He is a major focus of investigative journalist Mark Hertsgaard's book, Bravehearts: Whistle-blowing in the Age of Snowden.