GUARDIANS
OF THE YEAR
The Public Servants
SERVING COUNTRY
OVER SELF
By Massimo Calabresi, Vera Bergengruen and Simon Shuster
There are 363,000 federal workers in The greaTer
Washington, D.C., area. In the first week of September, his-
tory turned in the office of one of them. The intelligence an-
alyst who blew the whistle on President Donald Trump had
just gotten off the phone with the Inspector General’s office.
One of a handful of people who had read the analyst’s report
alleging that Trump had solicited foreign interference in the
2020 election, the Inspector General had found the analyst’s
concerns “urgent” and “credible.” But there was a problem:
higher-ups in the intelligence community had spoken to the
White House. Both were blocking the IG from sending the
complaint to Congress.
There is a particular kind of silence in the offices of the in-
telligence community. The buildings have multipaned win-
dows with special protective coatings that prevent eaves-
dropping so virtually all exterior noise is blocked. There are
few conversations in the carpeted hallways—people mind
their own business—and everyone ensures their phone calls
cannot be overheard. Amid the ambient hum of HVAC sys-
tems and the occasional ringing of an elevator bell, the at-
mosphere is one of monastic isolation. Sitting alone in that
SCULPTURE BY SU BLACKWELL FOR TIME
