For two-plus years, Empower Oversight has tried to get answers from Joseph Cuffari about the abuses of TSA's Quiet Skies surveillance program. The alleged targeting of Tulsi Gabbard by the TSA's Quiet Skies program has prompted Tristan Leavitt with Empower Oversight to send yet another letter to Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ask why the TSA continues to "waste taxpayer resources and abuse its authority." While it is incredible that an active U.S. Army Reserve officer, former congresswoman, and presidential candidate would be targeted, it is true. Screenshots of the Target Package being used to surveil Gabbard prove Gabbard is enrolled in the program. The screenshots were provided to UncoverDC by Sonya LaBosco, Executive Director of the Air Marshal National Council (AMNC).
Tulsi Gabbard Being Surveilled Under Quiet Skies Program
On Sunday, UncoverDC broke the story, reporting the allegation that Gabbard was being followed without her knowledge by Federal Air Marshals (FAMS). Gabbard's detail allegedly includes "three Air Marshals, two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), and one plainclothes TSA Supervisor," according to LaBosco. Leavitt's Aug. 5, 2024 letter shows Cuffari and TSA's Chief David Pekoske have done next to nothing to address the fact that innocent Americans, including some J6 defendants, are, like Gabbard, "improperly labeled a 'domestic terrorist' and targeted for FAMS 'Special Mission Coverage (SMC.'"
Many rightly and logically ask how it is possible that Gabbard has no idea she is being surveilled by two K9 teams and multiple law enforcement personnel. LaBosco explained that while it seems incredible, it is precisely what the FAMS are trained to do. To disrupt a possible terrorist attack, it is precisely their job to blend in and avoid being detected by the target at all costs. K9 units might "sniff out" the perimeter. FAMS will mingle with others to avoid being detected. They would chat with others in the terminal or on the plane. In addition, the entire team does not board the plane with the target. In most cases, it is only the FAMS who board the plane and melt into the environment. Americans do not expect to be surveilled. Perception is reality. Normal people will see what they want to see.
Whistleblower Contacted Empower Oversight in 2022
Empower Oversight has been investigating the alleged abuse of Quiet Skies since 2022, when a Senior Federal Air Marshal came to them with TSA's ongoing surveillance of his wife. According to his affidavit, his wife was allegedly enrolled in the program simply because she attended President Trump's Jan. 6 speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Moreover, as previously reported by Sonya LaBosco for UncoverDC, the FAMS file "falsely stated she 'unlawfully entered the United States Capitol Building on 1/06/2021," even though she was "nowhere near the U.S Capitol complex that day."
Despite repeated attempts to rectify the situation, Empower Oversight has made little progress with Cuffari, Pekoske, or Christoper Wray with the FBI. The whistleblower first made protected disclosures to his FAMS supervisor and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Johnson then wrote to the TSA and the FBI on Jul. 26, 2021. Johnson's letter is included in the Aug. 5, 2024 letter as Attachment A.
According to the letter from Empower Oversight, the whistleblower first enlisted Empower Oversight's help in the spring of 2022. The whistleblower's May 23, 2022, sworn written statement can be found in Attachment B of the letter. Empower Oversight assisted the FAMS in filing his disclosure with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. In July, however, Special Counsel refused to refer the FAMS disclosures to Cuffari's office. Not to be deterred, Empower Oversight disclosed the information directly to Cuffari's office on Nov. 29, 2022. On Jan. 9, 2023, Cuffari's office indicated it would be "examining the allegations." However, the whistleblower never heard from Cuffari or anyone else again.
Removal from Quiet Skies Almost Impossible
According to LaBosco, it was exceedingly difficult to get the FBI to remove a name from the TSA's suspected domestic terrorist watchlist. The whistleblower was not removed until the spring of 2023. UncoverDC reported that there is no due process once an individual is enrolled in the Quiet Skies program. Individuals enrolled in the program are on the suspected domestic terrorist list for a minimum of 15 years, seven of which are active. There is no form, no phone number to call, and no procedural way an average citizen can get his name removed. While it was egregious the whistleblower was placed on the list to begin with, at least they had the connections to get her name eventually removed.
Surveillance Abuses Ongoing Despite Efforts to Stop Them
As Empower Oversight notes in this recent letter to Cuffari, it is becoming crystal clear that the clearing of the whistleblower's name did nothing to "remedy the clear abuses of FAMS surveillance or deter further abuses, as the recent Tulsi Gabbard revelations demonstrate." LaBosco and AMNC President David Londo have worked tirelessly since 2021 with Congress and others to investigate and to get TSA to cease and desist in what she calls a "big domestic surveillance grab." LaBosco wants Quiet Skies to be shut down and is trying to move the Air Marshals back to a law enforcement arm of the government where it belongs. Even the 2020 OIG Report on the Quiet Skies program is highly critical of TSA's management of Quiet Skies, stating, "TSA lacked sufficient oversight to ensure the Quiet Skies program operated as intended."
