Daniel P. Meyer
Encyclopedia
Daniel P. Meyer is director for whistleblowing and transparency (DW&T) to Gordon S. Heddell
, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
.
As Director DW&T, Meyer's role is to promulgate a whistleblower protection program and provide leadership for investigations implementing and ensuring accountability in the protection of employees, military and civilian, as well as contractors who disclose violations of law, rule and/or regulation. The DW&T also coordinates office policy on Qui Tam
and False Claims Act
litigation. From January 2004 to September 2010, Meyer was a federal supervisory investigator specializing in the protection of sources providing information regarding wrongdoing, also known as "whistleblowers." Formerly as the Director, Civilian Reprisal Investigations (DCRI), Mr. Meyer led a directorate composed of two investigative teams: the National Security Reprisal Team (NSRT) and the Procurement Fraud Reprisal Team (PFRT). In the spring of 2010, he was announced as a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal
, National Security and International Affairs category.
, CRI investigates reprisal against whistleblowers who are civilian appropriated-fund employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, including Defense agencies and Military Service civilian employees engaged in intelligence and counter-intelligence activities. Since 2004, CRI has investigated reprisal against whistleblowers on the C-130J, RC-135, F-18 and other avionics platforms, the former U.S. Army program known as "Able Danger
", the integrity of ground intelligence data, and other matters. CRI is known for its role in developing a means for reviewing security clearance decision-making and investigations alleged to be a pretext for reprisal. Meyer's directorate also investigate the activities of John C. Metzler, Jr.
's staff in the actions toward a whistleblower at Arlington National Cemetery
. The investigation became a small contribution in the uncovering of the Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy
.
Mr. Meyer has been a consistent critic of pro-management judicial and administrative interpretations of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989
, noting their corrosive effect on the intent of the United States Congress in passing the Act. In his role as Director of DW&T and CRI, Mr. Meyer has been described as " . . . pretty fearless. He has the knowledge and technical acumen to determine what is right.". In 2001, Meyer cautioned whistleblowers that despite the fact that the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 ". . . says that federal workers should be protected, not punished . . . whistleblowing remains an often risky and difficult path . . . ." Dan Meyer is credited within overcoming some senior leadership reticence to protecting whistleblowers within the intelligence and counterintelligence communities. When addressing whistleblower issues, Mr. Meyer focuses on the fact that whistleblowing plays "an important role in improving government performance and accountability." He considers whistleblowing to be " . . . all about transparency. We shouldn't run from letting the people know what we federal employees are doing. In fact, if we had more transparency, we would have fewer problems. More government transparency allows more senior executive and congressional oversight; and oversight allows for the correction of government failures." When describing the Inspector General's reprisal investigations, Mr. Meyer stated, "We just call them as they are. I have no concerns at all for protecting the wrongdoer. At the end of the day, the business of government is the people's business, not the wrongdoer's business."
During the winter of 2006, Meyer appeared in Congressional testimony with Mr. Thomas F. Gimble, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense, and Ms. Jane Deese, Director of Military Reprisal Investigations before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. The hearing was called by Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT). In the testimony, the Office of the Inspector General stated that it had the authority to investigate adverse security clearance and access decisions as part of its broad responsibility for investigating allegations that individuals suffered reprisal for making disclosures of fraud, waste and abuse to certain authorities. Meyer's February 2006 testimony discussed the importance of whistleblower-initiated complaints driving the investigative process so that the offices of inspectors general are not used to target whistleblowers. The issue arose in an exchange with Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich
(D-Ohio) and related to the experience of Sgt. Samuel Provance
. In his Congressional testimony, Meyer's positions have typically supported the independence of discrete constitutional actions. This concern for the independence of government decision-making is also present in his first appearance in a court of law, making oral argument in United States v. Graf, 35 M.J. 450, 1992 CMA LEXIS 1032 (Sept. 30, 1992).
on board battleship , in which a technical malfunction destroyed Turret Two. During the Iowa investigation, then Lieutenant (j.g.) Meyer became a whistleblower when he disclosed alleged misdirection of the investigation to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Regarding his whistleblowing, Dan Meyer stated in 2011, "I can empathize with the pressure that's put on you. But the Navy did OK by me." Mr. Meyer's fleet service was the subject of a 2001 FX Network Feature Film, A Glimpse of Hell
, starring Robert Sean Leonard
(as Lt. Dan Meyer) and James Caan
(as Captain Fred Moosally). A book
of the same title was authored by veteran 60 Minutes journalist Charles S. Thompson
(W.W. Norton & Co. 1999).
In 1993 and 1994, Meyer served as regulatory clerk to Commissioner Andrew C. Barrett of the Federal Communications Commission
. He also served as a graduate intern to the Office of Communications Research in the Executive Office of the President during the first Clinton Administration. While at the White House
, he assisted the President's 'War Rooms' for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
and the North American Free Trade Agreement
of 1994. The Communications Research team was under the direction of Ann Walker Marchant, and reported to Mark Gearan
(later David Gergen
and supported the activities of George Stephanopoulos
and Dee Dee Myers
.
In the United States Navy
, Meyer served as Communications & Signals Officer for the Flagship Middle East Force during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He conned the during that ship's mine sweeping operations to liberate Mina Al Shuaiba, and also during the repelling of Islamic Guard pirates off Nahkilu Island in 1991. Prior to that assignment, he was the Turret One Officer on board battleship Iowa from 1987 through 1990. He and his gunners broke the world's record in naval offshore gunnery at Vieques Island on January 28, 1989.
During his naval service, Meyer was awarded honors, including: Surface Warrior Pin, Iowa (1989); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Seventh Fleet (1991; for meritorious service under Commander U.S. Naval Central Command during the Persian Gulf War); Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic (1990; for meritorious service in the aftermath of the explosion on board Iowa. While Officer of the Deck of LaSalle, he qualified for the Combat Action Ribbon
during minesweeping operations off Kuwait. Other naval operations in which Meyer participated included the Ernest Will Operations escorting U.S.-flagged oil tankers through the Straits of Hormuz (1987–1988) and the planned strike at Nahr al-Kalb
in 1989. He served under Captains Larry Seaquist
and Fred Moosally
on board Iowa. His commanding officer during Desert Shield and the beginning of Desert Storm was John B. Nathman
. Dating from his days on the IOWA tasked to Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, Meyer counted Jeremy Michael Boorda
among his mentors through the mid-1990s.
and worked the gubernatorial issues surrounding the case of Cindy Ossias
. Significant litigation included Moosally v. W.W. Norton & Co., 594 S.E.2d 878 (S.C. Ct. App. 2004)(limiting reach of South Carolina courts in defamation cases); R.I. Dep't of Envtl. Mgmt. v. United States, 304 F.3d 31 (1st Cir. 2003)(securing right of federal government to intervene against the States in Department of Labor adjudicatory proceedings); William T. Knox v. United States Department of Labor, 434 F.3d 721 (4th Cir. 2006) (alleging that the United States Department of the Interior ("DOI") violated the whistleblower provision of the Clean Air Act ("CAA"), 42 U.S.C.§ 7622); and appellate litigation in behalf of the shipping services sector of the economy following the consolidation of railroad ownership in the 1990s. Meyer's labor advocacy included participation in the rulemaking regarding the privatization of essential government activities. A critic of privatization, he argued that privatization reaches a limit after which cost savings is limited and enforcement reduced. Mr. Meyer's legal writings have appeared in the Federal Communications Law Journal and the Western New England Law Journal. He is also a non-managerial equity partner of The Crescent Group based out of New Haven, Connecticut.
in 2001–2004. He also served as the Chairman of that municipality's Planning & Zoning Commission. Meyer ran unopposed. In the year prior to the election, he was known for his objection to Burkittsville's treatment by the makers of The Blair Witch Project, a mock documentary horror film that became a hit in 1999. Reflecting on Hollywood’s performance in both A Glimpse of Hell and The Blair Witch Project, Meyer saw an inverse relationship between the movies. 'With the 'Blair Witch' thing, you were looking at a movie that had a fictitious account of the town. In the IOWA story, it was the exact opposite. The media product is more accurate to the truth than any official finding.'
During this service from 1996 to 2002, he aided the town in its response to the Blair Witch Project and also assisted local residents in developing preservation strategies during the buildout of communications technologies after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Meyer is currently an usher and a lector, Saint John's Parish Church in Hagerstown, Maryland
and is exceedingly active in alumni affairs for Cornell University.
. During his youth, the family was assigned to naval stations in the tidewater of Virginia, northern Virginia, Northwood, England and Ithaca, New York during his childhood and adolescence. He is a 1983 Regent's graduate of Ithaca High School
, and studied at Cornell University
under Dan Baugh
, George McTurnan Kahin
, Peter Katzenstein
, Isaac Kramnick
, Walter LaFeber
(himself a student of William Appleman Williams
), Theodore J. Lowi
, Mary Beth Norton
and Norman Uphoff
.
of Rochester, New York, jurist and corporation counsel to the City of Rochester.
Meyer’s father, Captain James Meyer, USN (Ret.), was born Dec. 2, 1929 in Rochester, New York
. He took his masters from George Washington University
in 1972 through the Naval War College
at Newport, Rhode Island
. His thesis was on the transition of the People Republic of China from a communist to an oligarchical system of government. He was married to Mary Kinney Meyer from 1955 to 1994. There are four Meyer children: Elizabeth, Paul, Maureen and Daniel.
He entered the United States Navy
in 1947 as a bluejacket
. The future Captain Meyer served as a radioman
after completing the basic course at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Attending the electronics school, he was assigned to the Destroyer
fleet. In 1949, he was sent to the United States Naval Academy Preparatory School in anticipation of matriculation at the United States Naval Academy
in the fall of 1950. Taking his commission from the USNA in 1954, he served briefly in Flying boats at Willoughby Spit
and on board the USS Arneb (AKA-56)
before entering the Submarine school at Groton, Connecticut
. From 1955 onward, he served successively on the Argonaut, George Washington, and . In his naval service, Captain Meyer conducted the surveillance of the first Soviet fleet operations into the south Atlantic and was the weapons officer of the during the Cuban Missle Crisis. He was also executive officer of the . He was commanding officer
of the Requin and Cutlass.
On NATO staff, Captain Meyer served with Admirals John Fieldhouse
, James Eberle
and Henry Leach
. The president of the Mess at their headquarters, HMS Warrior
, was Lord Louis Mountbatten. The Frasers of Three Rivers
were neighbors and family friends of Captain Meyer and his family. Captain Meyer's father, George Earl Meyer served on the Texas border during in the aftermath of the Mexican revolution
during General John J. Pershing's expedition into Mexico.
In 1969 he left sea duty and served on NATO staff in Norfolk, Virginia
prior to a Pentagon
assignment in Naval Operations (OPNAV (OP-02) under Admiral Bob Long
. Promoted to captain, he then served as Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations and Intelligence, to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT) /Commander-in-Chief, Channel (CINCHAN). His final tour was under Commander, Naval Education & Training (CNET) as commanding officer and professor of naval science at Cornell University
(1979-1984) during the presidency of Frank H.T. Rhodes
. He was Mr. Meyer's commanding officer during then-Midshipman 4/C Meyer's freshman year at Cornell. Dan Meyer was mentored by Cornell's Richard M. Ramin
, in part, due to the latter's relationship with Captain Meyer. Both Ramin and Dan Meyer were tapped into Cornell's Sphinx Head Society and worked successfully to end that organization's ban on women members.
in 1987 and his Juris Doctorate at Indiana University Maurer School of Law
in 1995. He is a member of the bar, District of Columbia, a veteran of the first Gulf War and a National Security Studies Fellow – Maxwell School
, Syracuse University
. Mr. Meyer has also completed the U.S. Judge Advocate General's invitation-only Intelligence Law course at Charlottesville, Virginia
, focusing on the law governing intelligence and counterintelligence activities by the United States.
.
Gordon S. Heddell
Gordon S. Heddell is the Inspector General ' of the United States Department of Defense. Previously, Heddell also served as Inspector General for the Department of Labor.-Early government experience:...
, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
The Department of Defense Inspector General is an independent, objective agency that provides oversight related to the programs and operations of the Department of Defense...
.
As Director DW&T, Meyer's role is to promulgate a whistleblower protection program and provide leadership for investigations implementing and ensuring accountability in the protection of employees, military and civilian, as well as contractors who disclose violations of law, rule and/or regulation. The DW&T also coordinates office policy on Qui Tam
Qui tam
In common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed...
and False Claims Act
False Claims Act
The False Claims Act is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies who defraud governmental programs. The law includes a "qui tam" provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file actions on behalf of the government...
litigation. From January 2004 to September 2010, Meyer was a federal supervisory investigator specializing in the protection of sources providing information regarding wrongdoing, also known as "whistleblowers." Formerly as the Director, Civilian Reprisal Investigations (DCRI), Mr. Meyer led a directorate composed of two investigative teams: the National Security Reprisal Team (NSRT) and the Procurement Fraud Reprisal Team (PFRT). In the spring of 2010, he was announced as a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal
Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals
The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also known as “the Sammies,” honor stars of the Federal government workforce, highlighting the work of employees making significant contributions to the governance of the United States. The awards are considered "the Oscars” of American government...
, National Security and International Affairs category.
Expertise
As the DCRI, Mr. Meyer investigated whistleblower reprisal complaints filed by DoD civilians pursuant to Section 7, Inspector General Act of 1978. Created in 2004 to augment the primary jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Special CounselUnited States Office of Special Counsel
The United States Office of Special Counsel is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act and the Hatch Act...
, CRI investigates reprisal against whistleblowers who are civilian appropriated-fund employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, including Defense agencies and Military Service civilian employees engaged in intelligence and counter-intelligence activities. Since 2004, CRI has investigated reprisal against whistleblowers on the C-130J, RC-135, F-18 and other avionics platforms, the former U.S. Army program known as "Able Danger
Able Danger
Able Danger was a classified military planning effort led by the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency...
", the integrity of ground intelligence data, and other matters. CRI is known for its role in developing a means for reviewing security clearance decision-making and investigations alleged to be a pretext for reprisal. Meyer's directorate also investigate the activities of John C. Metzler, Jr.
John C. Metzler, Jr.
John C. Metzler, Jr. , is an American civil servant who was Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, from 1991 to 2010. He achieved notoriety in the press at the end of his tenure due to the Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy.-Early life:John C....
's staff in the actions toward a whistleblower at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. The investigation became a small contribution in the uncovering of the Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy
Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy
The Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy is an ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Defense into mismanagement, poor record-keeping, and other issues involving the burial and identification of U.S. servicemembers' graves at Arlington National Cemetery in...
.
Mr. Meyer has been a consistent critic of pro-management judicial and administrative interpretations of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989
Whistleblower Protection Act
-Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989:The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is a United States federal law that protects federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report agency misconduct...
, noting their corrosive effect on the intent of the United States Congress in passing the Act. In his role as Director of DW&T and CRI, Mr. Meyer has been described as " . . . pretty fearless. He has the knowledge and technical acumen to determine what is right.". In 2001, Meyer cautioned whistleblowers that despite the fact that the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 ". . . says that federal workers should be protected, not punished . . . whistleblowing remains an often risky and difficult path . . . ." Dan Meyer is credited within overcoming some senior leadership reticence to protecting whistleblowers within the intelligence and counterintelligence communities. When addressing whistleblower issues, Mr. Meyer focuses on the fact that whistleblowing plays "an important role in improving government performance and accountability." He considers whistleblowing to be " . . . all about transparency. We shouldn't run from letting the people know what we federal employees are doing. In fact, if we had more transparency, we would have fewer problems. More government transparency allows more senior executive and congressional oversight; and oversight allows for the correction of government failures." When describing the Inspector General's reprisal investigations, Mr. Meyer stated, "We just call them as they are. I have no concerns at all for protecting the wrongdoer. At the end of the day, the business of government is the people's business, not the wrongdoer's business."
Congressional testimony
In testimony before the United States Congress in 2003, Mr. Meyer advanced a theory stating that there is a false dichotomy between Defense readiness and Environmental compliance. National security and environmental security are two components of the common defense. Central to the theory is the concept that national security achieved at the expense of the environment undermines the purpose for which a common defense is maintained. In his 2003 testimony before House Resources, Mr. Meyer distanced himself Raymond F. Dubois, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations, and Environment, Department of Defense. Mr. Meyer advised the committee that environmental laws were to be read together, each successive act of Congress forming an evolving set of mandates on federal agencies, all of which were to be organized as a whole under an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan. Meyer also used the hearing as an opportunity to warn the Congress about the impact of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in the Huffman case (2000), fundamentally changing the protections afforded to federal whistleblowers, and the dangers of further delegations of statutory responsibilities to the States unless a concurrent delegation of the whistleblower protection provisions was matched by a waiver of sovereign immunity. While at PEER, Mr. Meyer was moving this theory into a deconfliction of environmental and mercantile policies as well. This is evident in his pleading regarding Installing and Maintaining Commercial Submarine Cables in National Marine Sanctuaries, 65 Fed. Reg. 51264-51270 (Dkt. No. 0005261-0157-01)(Aug. 23, 2000). Reference to the PEER environmental security work during Mr. Meyer's tenure can be found in Rita Floyd's Security and the Environment: Securitisation Theory and U.S. Environmental Security Policy (2010).During the winter of 2006, Meyer appeared in Congressional testimony with Mr. Thomas F. Gimble, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense, and Ms. Jane Deese, Director of Military Reprisal Investigations before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. The hearing was called by Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT). In the testimony, the Office of the Inspector General stated that it had the authority to investigate adverse security clearance and access decisions as part of its broad responsibility for investigating allegations that individuals suffered reprisal for making disclosures of fraud, waste and abuse to certain authorities. Meyer's February 2006 testimony discussed the importance of whistleblower-initiated complaints driving the investigative process so that the offices of inspectors general are not used to target whistleblowers. The issue arose in an exchange with Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
(D-Ohio) and related to the experience of Sgt. Samuel Provance
Samuel Provance
Samuel Provance was a U.S. Army military intelligence sergeant who disobeyed an order from his commanders in the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion, by explaining what he experienced at the Abu Ghraib Prison, where he was assigned from September 2003 to February 2004, to the media...
. In his Congressional testimony, Meyer's positions have typically supported the independence of discrete constitutional actions. This concern for the independence of government decision-making is also present in his first appearance in a court of law, making oral argument in United States v. Graf, 35 M.J. 450, 1992 CMA LEXIS 1032 (Sept. 30, 1992).
Previous Government Service
Mr. Meyer is a former naval officer. A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he is also a survivor of the 1989 explosionUSS Iowa turret explosion
The USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa on April 19, 1989. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself...
on board battleship , in which a technical malfunction destroyed Turret Two. During the Iowa investigation, then Lieutenant (j.g.) Meyer became a whistleblower when he disclosed alleged misdirection of the investigation to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Regarding his whistleblowing, Dan Meyer stated in 2011, "I can empathize with the pressure that's put on you. But the Navy did OK by me." Mr. Meyer's fleet service was the subject of a 2001 FX Network Feature Film, A Glimpse of Hell
A Glimpse of Hell (film)
A Glimpse of Hell is a drama film originally made for TV and was initially shown on the FX TV network. It was released in the United States on March 18, 2001. It was filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and stars James Caan, Robert Sean Leonard, and Daniel Roebuck. It was directed by Mikael...
, starring Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard is an American actor, who has regularly starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Since 2004 he has played the role of Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House...
(as Lt. Dan Meyer) and James Caan
James Caan
James Caan is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery, A Bridge Too Far, Brian's Song, Rollerball, Kiss Me Goodbye, Elf, and El Dorado...
(as Captain Fred Moosally). A book
A Glimpse of Hell (book)
A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-Up is a nonfiction book of investigative journalism, written by Charles C. Thompson II and published in 1999. The book describes the USS Iowa turret explosion that took place on April 19, 1989 and the subsequent investigations that...
of the same title was authored by veteran 60 Minutes journalist Charles S. Thompson
Charles S. Thompson
Charles S. Thompson was Hollywood set decorator, with nearly 200 films to his credit in a career that lasted 30 years. He cut his teeth on a string of B movies in the early 40s, before breaking into John Ford's inner circle of regulars. Amongst his credits for the director were Rio Grande and The...
(W.W. Norton & Co. 1999).
In 1993 and 1994, Meyer served as regulatory clerk to Commissioner Andrew C. Barrett of the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
. He also served as a graduate intern to the Office of Communications Research in the Executive Office of the President during the first Clinton Administration. While at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, he assisted the President's 'War Rooms' for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 was federal law that was enacted by the 103rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It has also been referred to, unofficially, as the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993...
and the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
of 1994. The Communications Research team was under the direction of Ann Walker Marchant, and reported to Mark Gearan
Mark Gearan
Mark Daniel Gearan is a politician, lawyer and communications expert. Gearan is the current president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.-Early life and education:...
(later David Gergen
David Gergen
David Richmond Gergen is an American political consultant and former presidential advisor who served during the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is currently Director of the Center for Public Leadership and a professor of public service at Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is...
and supported the activities of George Stephanopoulos
George Stephanopoulos
George Robert Stephanopoulos is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.Stephanopoulos is most well known as the chief political correspondent for ABC News – the news division of the broadcast television network ABC – and a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news...
and Dee Dee Myers
Dee Dee Myers
Dee Dee Myers served as White House Press Secretary for the first two years of the Clinton administration, from January 20, 1993 to December 22, 1994.-Early life and education:...
.
In the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, Meyer served as Communications & Signals Officer for the Flagship Middle East Force during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He conned the during that ship's mine sweeping operations to liberate Mina Al Shuaiba, and also during the repelling of Islamic Guard pirates off Nahkilu Island in 1991. Prior to that assignment, he was the Turret One Officer on board battleship Iowa from 1987 through 1990. He and his gunners broke the world's record in naval offshore gunnery at Vieques Island on January 28, 1989.
During his naval service, Meyer was awarded honors, including: Surface Warrior Pin, Iowa (1989); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Seventh Fleet (1991; for meritorious service under Commander U.S. Naval Central Command during the Persian Gulf War); Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic (1990; for meritorious service in the aftermath of the explosion on board Iowa. While Officer of the Deck of LaSalle, he qualified for the Combat Action Ribbon
Combat Action Ribbon
The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard , have actively participated in ground or...
during minesweeping operations off Kuwait. Other naval operations in which Meyer participated included the Ernest Will Operations escorting U.S.-flagged oil tankers through the Straits of Hormuz (1987–1988) and the planned strike at Nahr al-Kalb
Nahr al-Kalb
The Nahr al-Kalb is a river in Lebanon. It runs for from a spring in Jeita near the Jeita Grotto to the Mediterranean Sea.-Historical significance:...
in 1989. He served under Captains Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist is the current Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, for the 26th District....
and Fred Moosally
Fred Moosally
Fred P. Moosally is a former Captain in the United States Navy. During his naval career, Moosally served in many different assignments, including commander of a destroyer and the battleship USS Iowa...
on board Iowa. His commanding officer during Desert Shield and the beginning of Desert Storm was John B. Nathman
John B. Nathman
John B. Nathman is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command until 17 May 2007.-Early career:...
. Dating from his days on the IOWA tasked to Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, Meyer counted Jeremy Michael Boorda
Jeremy Michael Boorda
Jeremy Michael Boorda was an admiral of the United States Navy and the 25th Chief of Naval Operations . Boorda is the only CNO to have risen to the position from the enlisted ranks.-Early life and education :...
among his mentors through the mid-1990s.
Private Practice
Prior to serving as Director, CRI, Meyer practiced law with private firms and non-profit corporations in the District of Columbia, specializing in communications and whistleblower law. He is the former General Counsel of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), where he represented Teresa ChambersTeresa Chambers
Teresa Chambers was the Chief of the United States Park Police from February 2002 until December 2003. She was fired after speaking with a Washington Post reporter in detail about her concerns that new requirements instituted by the United States Congress to double the number of stationary guards...
and worked the gubernatorial issues surrounding the case of Cindy Ossias
Cindy Ossias
Cindy Ossias is a San Francisco, California, based lawyer and musician. In the early months of the year 2000, while serving as a long-time senior lawyer for the California Department of Insurance , Ossias leaked confidential documents exposing the allegedly illegal and corrupt activities of Chuck...
. Significant litigation included Moosally v. W.W. Norton & Co., 594 S.E.2d 878 (S.C. Ct. App. 2004)(limiting reach of South Carolina courts in defamation cases); R.I. Dep't of Envtl. Mgmt. v. United States, 304 F.3d 31 (1st Cir. 2003)(securing right of federal government to intervene against the States in Department of Labor adjudicatory proceedings); William T. Knox v. United States Department of Labor, 434 F.3d 721 (4th Cir. 2006) (alleging that the United States Department of the Interior ("DOI") violated the whistleblower provision of the Clean Air Act ("CAA"), 42 U.S.C.§ 7622); and appellate litigation in behalf of the shipping services sector of the economy following the consolidation of railroad ownership in the 1990s. Meyer's labor advocacy included participation in the rulemaking regarding the privatization of essential government activities. A critic of privatization, he argued that privatization reaches a limit after which cost savings is limited and enforcement reduced. Mr. Meyer's legal writings have appeared in the Federal Communications Law Journal and the Western New England Law Journal. He is also a non-managerial equity partner of The Crescent Group based out of New Haven, Connecticut.
Community Involvement
Meyer served as Mayor of the Town of Burkittsville, MarylandBurkittsville, Maryland
Burkittsville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 171 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Burkittsville is located at ....
in 2001–2004. He also served as the Chairman of that municipality's Planning & Zoning Commission. Meyer ran unopposed. In the year prior to the election, he was known for his objection to Burkittsville's treatment by the makers of The Blair Witch Project, a mock documentary horror film that became a hit in 1999. Reflecting on Hollywood’s performance in both A Glimpse of Hell and The Blair Witch Project, Meyer saw an inverse relationship between the movies. 'With the 'Blair Witch' thing, you were looking at a movie that had a fictitious account of the town. In the IOWA story, it was the exact opposite. The media product is more accurate to the truth than any official finding.'
During this service from 1996 to 2002, he aided the town in its response to the Blair Witch Project and also assisted local residents in developing preservation strategies during the buildout of communications technologies after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Meyer is currently an usher and a lector, Saint John's Parish Church in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
and is exceedingly active in alumni affairs for Cornell University.
Personal and Family
Meyer was born at the U.S. Naval Hospital, New London, ConnecticutNew London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
. During his youth, the family was assigned to naval stations in the tidewater of Virginia, northern Virginia, Northwood, England and Ithaca, New York during his childhood and adolescence. He is a 1983 Regent's graduate of Ithaca High School
Ithaca High School (Ithaca, New York)
Ithaca High School is a public high school in Ithaca, New York. It is part of the Ithaca City School District, and has an enrollment of approximately 1,675. Jarett Powers has been principal since 2011.-About:...
, and studied at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
under Dan Baugh
Daniel A. Baugh
Daniel Albert Baugh is "seen as the definitive historian of [British] naval administration." Baugh has defined his own contribution in explaining "My research field is mainly England, 1660-1840...
, George McTurnan Kahin
George McTurnan Kahin
George McTurnan KahinSometimes referred to as George Kahin or George McT. Kahin. Some, but fewer, sources may also cite him as George M. Kahin. was an American historian and political scientist. He was one of the leading experts on Southeast Asia and a critic of United States involvement in the...
, Peter Katzenstein
Peter J. Katzenstein
Peter Katzenstein is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University. He was educated in his native Germany. Katzenstein has received degrees from the London School of Economics, Swarthmore College, as well as a Ph.D. from Harvard University...
, Isaac Kramnick
Isaac Kramnick
Isaac Kramnick is an American historian, social scientist and the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University. He is a subject-matter expert on English and American political thought and history.-Research:...
, Walter LaFeber
Walter LaFeber
Walter LaFeber was a Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow in the Department of History at Cornell University...
(himself a student of William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams was one of the 20th century's most prominent revisionist historians of American diplomacy, and has been called "the favorite historian of the Middle American New Left." He achieved the height of his influence while on the faculty of the Department of History at the...
), Theodore J. Lowi
Theodore J. Lowi
Theodore J. Lowi is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions teaching in the Government Department at Cornell University. His area of research is the American government and public policy.-Biography:...
, Mary Beth Norton
Mary Beth Norton
Mary Beth Norton is an American historian. She is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History Department of History at Cornell University. Norton was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and her Master of Arts and Ph.D. ...
and Norman Uphoff
Norman Uphoff
Norman Uphoff is an American social scientist serving as a Professor of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University...
.
Parents
Meyer's mother is Mary Kinney Meyer (1933–1994), a graduate of St. Mary's Hospital nursing program and the granddaughter of the honorable John Franklin KinneyJohn Franklin Kinney
John Franklin Kinney of Rochester, New York was a New York State jurist and Democratic Party operative of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, described as one of “the strong men of the Democratic Party, potent in counsel, a trusted leader and a popular campaign orator.”- Early & Family Life...
of Rochester, New York, jurist and corporation counsel to the City of Rochester.
Meyer’s father, Captain James Meyer, USN (Ret.), was born Dec. 2, 1929 in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. He took his masters from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in 1972 through the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. His thesis was on the transition of the People Republic of China from a communist to an oligarchical system of government. He was married to Mary Kinney Meyer from 1955 to 1994. There are four Meyer children: Elizabeth, Paul, Maureen and Daniel.
He entered the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1947 as a bluejacket
Bluejacket
-People:* A term for an enlisted sailor in the U.S. or British Navy* Blue Jacket, a Shawnee war chief known for his defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country* Charles Blue Jacket, a 19th century Shawnee chief in Kansas, and Methodist Minister...
. The future Captain Meyer served as a radioman
Radioman
Radioman was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology.-History of the rating:...
after completing the basic course at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Attending the electronics school, he was assigned to the Destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
fleet. In 1949, he was sent to the United States Naval Academy Preparatory School in anticipation of matriculation at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in the fall of 1950. Taking his commission from the USNA in 1954, he served briefly in Flying boats at Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south.- History :...
and on board the USS Arneb (AKA-56)
USS Arneb (AKA-56)
USS Arneb was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after Arneb, the brightest star in the southern constellation Lepus. She served as a commissioned ship for 27 years and 3 months, the longest time in commission of any AKA.Arneb was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract as...
before entering the Submarine school at Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
. From 1955 onward, he served successively on the Argonaut, George Washington, and . In his naval service, Captain Meyer conducted the surveillance of the first Soviet fleet operations into the south Atlantic and was the weapons officer of the during the Cuban Missle Crisis. He was also executive officer of the . He was commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of the Requin and Cutlass.
On NATO staff, Captain Meyer served with Admirals John Fieldhouse
John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse
Admiral of the Fleet John David Elliott Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse GCB, GBE was a high ranking officer in the Royal Navy...
, James Eberle
James Eberle
Admiral Sir James Henry Fuller Eberle GCB was Commander-in-Chief Fleet.-Naval career:Educated at Clifton College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Eberle was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1941. He served in World War II....
and Henry Leach
Henry Leach
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB, DL was a former First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy. Leach was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff between 1979 and 1982, being the professional head of the Navy at the time of the Falklands War...
. The president of the Mess at their headquarters, HMS Warrior
Northwood Headquarters
Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood...
, was Lord Louis Mountbatten. The Frasers of Three Rivers
Christopher Fraser
Christopher James Fraser is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk from 2005 to 2010.-Early life:...
were neighbors and family friends of Captain Meyer and his family. Captain Meyer's father, George Earl Meyer served on the Texas border during in the aftermath of the Mexican revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
during General John J. Pershing's expedition into Mexico.
In 1969 he left sea duty and served on NATO staff in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
prior to a Pentagon
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagram is an example of a self-intersecting pentagon.- Regular pentagons :In a regular pentagon, all sides are equal in length and...
assignment in Naval Operations (OPNAV (OP-02) under Admiral Bob Long
Robert L.J. Long
Robert Lyman John Long was a four star admiral in the United States Navy who served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1977–1979 and Commander in Chief Pacific from 1979 to 1983.-Early years and education:...
. Promoted to captain, he then served as Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations and Intelligence, to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT) /Commander-in-Chief, Channel (CINCHAN). His final tour was under Commander, Naval Education & Training (CNET) as commanding officer and professor of naval science at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(1979-1984) during the presidency of Frank H.T. Rhodes
Frank H.T. Rhodes
Frank Harold Trevor Rhodes was the ninth president of Cornell University from 1977 to 1995.-Biography:Rhodes was born in Warwickshire, England on October 29, 1926. He attended the University of Birmingham, graduating in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree...
. He was Mr. Meyer's commanding officer during then-Midshipman 4/C Meyer's freshman year at Cornell. Dan Meyer was mentored by Cornell's Richard M. Ramin
Richard M. Ramin
Richard Max Ramin was Vice President for Public Affairs at Cornell University for twenty-four years and a member of the Cornell staff for forty-one. In the weeks following the Willard Straight Takeover of April 19, 1969, pressure grew for Cornell President James A. Perkins to resign...
, in part, due to the latter's relationship with Captain Meyer. Both Ramin and Dan Meyer were tapped into Cornell's Sphinx Head Society and worked successfully to end that organization's ban on women members.
Sample Publications
- Dan Meyer & Everett E. Volk, "W" for War and Wedge? Environmental Enforcement and the Sacrifice of American Security - National and Environmental - To Complete the Emergence of a New "Beltway" Governing Elite, 25 W. New Engl. L. Rev. 41, 104-105 (2003).
- William J. Sill, Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Agencies Act of 1994 (CALEA), Wireless Review (January, 1999)(Ghost-written).
- Andrew C. Barrett, Deregulating the Second Republic, 47 F.C.L.J. 44 (1994) (co-authorship footnoted).
- Andrew C. Barrett, Shifting Foundations: The Regulation of Telecommunications in an Era of Change, 46 F.C.L.J. 39 (1993)(contribution footnoted) .
Education et alia
Director Meyer took his bachelors of arts at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1987 and his Juris Doctorate at Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the flagship campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The law school is one of two law schools operated by the Indiana University system, the other being the Indiana University McKinney School of Law...
in 1995. He is a member of the bar, District of Columbia, a veteran of the first Gulf War and a National Security Studies Fellow – Maxwell School
Maxwell School
For Maxwell School as a graduate school of Syracuse University see Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.Maxwell School is a semi-control for boys and the oldest school in the north of Kuala Lumpur as well as one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia...
, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. Mr. Meyer has also completed the U.S. Judge Advocate General's invitation-only Intelligence Law course at Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, focusing on the law governing intelligence and counterintelligence activities by the United States.
Associations
Mr. Meyer is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, Cornell's Sphinx Head Society, and the Irving Literary SocietyIrving Literary Society (Cornell University)
The Irving Literary Society was a literary society at Cornell University active from 1868 to 1887. The U.S...
.
External links
- U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (AI-CRI)