NSA officials set on ruining Thomas Drake's life went as far as to destroy documents that would help his defense, according to Pentagon Inspector Crane.

Crane wants the legal system to protect internal whistleblowers from being treated like Drake and Binney. He hopes that this way they won't need to report government wrongdoing to the public.

I see his heart is in the right place, but he's trying to solve only part of the problem. I think whistleblowers should tell the people what the state is really doing, because we are supposed to be in charge of the state. Accountability, in the state, means accountability to us .

The interview also reveals that the officials who are supposed to investigate accusations of retaliation (against other officials, for resisting corrupt or illegal practices) are afraid they will face retaliation for doing their job.