Beneath the headlines, out of sight of most Americans, a critical war is being fought between those who would reveal the starkest truths about the United States’ national security policies, and a federal government ever more committed to shrouding its activities in secrecy.

According to the Justice Department, those who leak sensitive information to the public are a threat to the nation’s safety — but transparency advocates maintain that a campaign to intimidate and punish anyone who speaks out about wrongdoing is underway. The immediate goal may be to contain embarrassing information, but the long-term consequence could erode the ability of the press to act as a check on government power. What is actually at stake — the whistleblowers themselves — is nothing less than our bedrock Constitutional protections enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

In SILENCED, the most important truthtellers of the post-9/11 era speak for the first time together, revealing in dramatic and unprecedented detail the evolution of the government’s increasingly harsh response to unauthorized disclosures, exploring the unique courage and character it takes to challenge unethical behavior from within the national security establishment, and what their chilling ordeals mean for the future of our country.