The fraudulent character of the Pentagon investigation of torture in Iraq was underscored by the revelations of Sergeant Samuel Provance, a systems analyst charged with the upkeep of computer systems at Abu Ghraib. Speaking on May 18 to the ABC television network, Provance described a massive cover-up of US torture in Iraq and gave more evidence of high-level responsibility for the Iraq torture policy. Significantly, he also revealed that Major General George Fay, who is heading the investigation into the Abu Ghraib abuses, tried to discourage him from making his revelations public. According to Provance, during his meeting with Fay he "was made to feel that my testimony was unwelcome." The Pentagon confirmed that it wanted Provance kept quiet by subsequently stripping him of his security clearance and threatening him with prosecution because his comments were "not in the national interest." Provance was "flagged" (i.e., barred from promotions, awards, or honors), and barred from discussing the abuses with the media or "other government agencies" such as Congress, which is also holding hearings on the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. Provance told ABC: "There's definitely a cover-up. People are either telling themselves or being told to be quiet. ... The collective silence by so many people that had to be involved, that had to have seen something or heard something." Provance told the Associated Press that humiliation and mistreatment of inmates "was not discussed because it was considered normal." Provance confirmed to the Washington Post that the military police at Abu Ghraib currently charged with torturing Iraqis were following the orders of military interrogators: "'Setting the conditions' for the interrogations was strictly dictated by military intelligence. They weren't the ones carrying it out, but they were the ones telling the MPs to wake the detainees every hour on the hour or limiting their food."