John Tye

John Napier Tye (born c. 1976) is a former official of the U.S. State Department who came forward in 2014 as a whistleblower seeking to publicize certain electronic surveillance practices of the U.S. government under Executive Order 12333. He later co-founded a legal organization, Whistleblower Aid, intended to help whistleblowers in multiple sectors forward their concerns without incurring legal liability.

Biography

John Tye was raised in a suburb of Boston. Said Tye of his undergraduate career, "I thought I was going to be a scientist. But when I was graduating, I decided I wanted to do things that have more of an impact on real people." He co-authored a May 2010 study on reform of the U.S. housing finance system, described as "essential reading" by real estate blogger Jonathan Miller, and co-authored the introductory chapter of the 2011 book The American Mortgage System: Crisis and Reform.

In January 2011, Tye was recruited to the State Department by his former Yale instructor Michael Posner, then Assistant Secretary of State. In his official role, Tye sometimes traveled abroad and advocated for an open Internet, free of government surveillance.

From 2014 to 2015, Tye was legal director and campaign director of Avaaz, a global civic activist organization.

Whistleblowing

Internal channels In Fall 2013 and February 2014, Tye attended two classified National Security Agency briefings on Executive Order 12333, which was signed by President Ronald Reagan and amended by President George W. Bush. Tye attended these briefings so that he could help prepare the State Department's response to the high-profile leaks disclosed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Radack's other clients, Thomas Drake and William Binney had also raised concerns about EO 12333 through internal channels prior to 2010.

Following a January 17, 2014 speech by President Barack Obama on NSA surveillance reforms that failed to mention changes to activities under E.O. 12333, Tye began to use internal channels at the State Department to press his concerns over the order.

Tye maintains that he has not, and will not, release any classified information. Prior to publication, he submitted his Post editorial for approval by the State Department and the NSA, which both deemed that no changes were necessary. Joel emphasized that Americans cannot be directly targeted under Executive Order 12333, and that use and retention of the collected data is limited by policies approved by the U.S. Attorney General. Notably, under these policies, data cannot be retained for more than five years. Tye's own attorney, Mark Zaid, a critic of Snowden, acknowledged that Snowden's disclosures had likely made it easier for Tye to come forward with his own revelation.

Whistleblower Aid In September 2017, Tye and lawyer Mark Zaid founded Whistleblower Aid, a legal organization intended to help whistleblowers across multiple sectors safely disclose wrongdoing. Initially focused on employees and contractors of the U.S. federal government, Whistleblower Aid emphasizes it is different from WikiLeaks: "No one should ever send classified information to Whistleblower Aid," the firm states. "Whistleblower Aid will never assist clients or prospective clients with leaking classified information." Instead, would-be whistleblowers with classified information will be directed to investigators with security clearances to help expose wrongdoing without breaking the law or incurring criminal liability. "We are trying to hold the U.S. government accountable," Zaid explained, "and provide free legal services to whistleblowers so they don't ruin their careers in the process or be prosecuted." Clients will not be charged. To cover expenses, the firm solicits donations from foundations and crowdsourced funding.