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I think you may be thinking of the military or elected officials, Non-elected non-military personnel do not have to make an oath by anything for most cases much

I think you may be thinking of the military or elected officials, Non-elected non-military personnel do not have to make an oath by anything for most cases much less the constitution.

wahern 10y ago
Do we know precisely where the leaks came from? Don't CIA officers, for example, take an oath? In any event, oath or not, I think it's understood that we expect people to breach protocol under the right circumstances. The United States, at least, rejected the Nuremberg Defense. This isn't quite the same thing, but at the very least it's well established that even the lowest-level officials have an obligation to their nation's organic[1] law, as well as to universal moral law, that supersedes their duty to obey supervisory authority. [1] organic meaning constitutional--little 'c', not big 'C'--that can include both written and unwritten law.
- uppercasenut 10y ago
  Suppose they have evidence that Person A very high in the admin is a spy for China and no one inside the executive branch cares what do they do? OK, go to Congress, but ultimately leaking is the lesser of two evils. These are career people, they might have been chasing Russian spies for decades so they are not going to let something like this stand
secfirstmd 10y ago
Found this online: The CIA oath reads: “I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” Schooled CIA employees know that the Constitution also defines the role of federal employees: "To establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty."

I think you may be thinking of the military or elected officials, Non-elected non-military personnel do not have to make an oath by anything for most cases much less the constitution.

wahern 10y ago

Do we know precisely where the leaks came from? Don't CIA officers, for example, take an oath? In any event, oath or not, I think it's understood that we expect people to breach protocol under the right circumstances. The United States, at least, rejected the Nuremberg Defense. This isn't quite the same thing, but at the very least it's well established that even the lowest-level officials have an obligation to their nation's organic[1] law, as well as to universal moral law, that supersedes their duty to obey supervisory authority. [1] organic meaning constitutional--little 'c', not big 'C'--that can include both written and unwritten law.

uppercasenut 10y ago
Suppose they have evidence that Person A very high in the admin is a spy for China and no one inside the executive branch cares what do they do? OK, go to Congress, but ultimately leaking is the lesser of two evils. These are career people, they might have been chasing Russian spies for decades so they are not going to let something like this stand

secfirstmd 10y ago

Found this online: The CIA oath reads: “I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” Schooled CIA employees know that the Constitution also defines the role of federal employees: "To establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty."