Author Archives: MSPB Watch

White House Issues Policy Directive Granting National Security Employees Whistleblower Protections

Posted by on October 11, 2012 Comments Off
gate

(photo: Scott Ableman / flickr)

Here is a copy of the directive [PDF], obtained from federalnewsradio.com. Here is some background about what it entails:

“Protected disclosure” is defined in this document as follows (emphasis added):

(5) The term “Protected Disclosure” means:

(a) a disclosure of information by the employee to a supervisor in the employee’s direct chain of command up to and including the head of the employing agency, to the Inspector General of the employing agency or Intelligence Community Element, to the Director of National Intelligence, to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, or to an employee designated by any of the above officials for the purpose of receiving such disclosures, that the employee reasonably believes evidences (i) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or (ii) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety;

(b) any communication described by and that complies with subsection (a)(1), (d), or (h) of section 8H of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); subsection (d)(5)(A) of section 17 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 403q); or subsection (k)(5)(A), (D), or (G), of section l03H of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403-3h);

(c) the exercise of any appeal, complaint, or grievance with regard to the violation of Section A or B of this directive;

(d) lawfully participating in an investigation or proceeding regarding a violation of Section A or B of this directive; or

(e) cooperating with or disclosing information to an Inspector General, in accordance with applicable provisions of law in connection with an audit, inspection, or investigation conducted by the Inspector General,

if the actions described under subparagraphs (c) through (e) do not result in the employee disclosing classified information or other information contrary to law.

This raises an interesting question: why doesn’t this definition include the Office of Special Counsel as an authorized recipient of (presumably classified) information?

After all, OSC is authorized by law to receive classified disclosures. So where does it fit in with this new scheme? In fact, OSC appears only once, in a discussion regarding assessing the efficacy of provisions deterring retaliation, on page 5. Why not educate employees about the OSC option? The document calls on national security officials to provide guidance for individual officers or employees regarding what disclosures are protected (also on page 5).

For more on this issue, see the following:

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Veal Pen Watch: Good government groups all but eject whistleblower from coalition for asking too many questions

Posted by on August 12, 2012 Comments Off

(photo: chmop / flickr)

Evelynn Brown, a federal whistleblower and CEO of her own whistleblower support group, has been lobbying the Make It Safe Campaign steering committee to become more open, transparent, responsive, and accountable.

The groups that comprise the steering committee of the good government group coalition, the Make It Safe Campaign, are:

  • –ACLU
  • –Government Accountability Project
  • –Project on Government Oversight
  • –Union of Concerned Scientists
  • –American Federation of Government Employees

Here are the details:

Brown asked for basic things like sharing the email list serv, getting rid of a 24 hour comment review period, having a whistleblower on the steering committee, having minutes of meetings made available, etc.

For whatever reason, today the committee decided they’d had enough. They said her comments had become increasingly antagonistic, uncivil, inaccurate. They won’t specify what was inaccurate about it, I asked. Her comments were civil but firm.

I think the person behind this is Tom Devine, GAP’s legal director. There is an authoritarian streak about him. I’ve already asked for his resignation and started to give detailed reasons why. He’s burning up his goodwill quickly. Censoring and exiling whistleblowers is a big no-no in our small community.

Here’s the banishment and what triggered it, below. Reprinted with permission.

From: Shanna Devine <shannad>
Date: Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 10:06 AM [PST]
Subject: MISC steering committee message
To: evy brown <evybrown>
Cc: miscsteering

Evy, after making repeated efforts to work with you, the steering committee members have made a decision that we will no longer engage in communication with you. Your messages are increasingly antagonistic, inaccurate, violate the most basic norms for civility, and are disruptive to our efforts to strengthen whistleblower protections. At your requests, we previously forwarded your messages to the MISC, including when you requested member contact information and collaboration for proposed projects. To the degree that individual members were responsive to your requests you have every right to directly engage them in your efforts and communication.

Sincerely,
MISC Steering Committee

Shanna Devine
Investigator, Legislative Campaign Coord.
Government Accountability Project
1612 K St NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 457-0034 ext. 132 (voice)
(202) 457-0059 (fax)
Email: shannad
Website: www.whistleblower.org

Here was the last straw for Devine and company, apparently: [cont'd.] Read more »

A Dissenters’ Digest for July 22–August 4

Posted by on August 6, 2012 Comments Off

ATF Director B. Todd Jones

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at news stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Is the tide turning on whistleblower rights? There are signs of hope. First, ATF director B. Todd Jones clarified his remarks on what seemed to be a threat to his employees not to blow the whistle outside the chain of command. Now, Jones is reaffirming ATF employees’ rights under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Second, a psychologist who blew the whistle about child abuse on an Indian reservation and was harassed for it is no longer under duress. Congressional and media pressure resulted in a full reversal of several adverse actions against him by the Indian Health Service.

Not so fast: The Food and Drug Administration is apparently engaging in a classic character assassination campaign against the ringleader of the FDA 9, a group of scientist/whistleblowers who have been targeted for spying and harassment. The New York Times served up what has been received as a biased, personality-focused hit piece, but not before the editorial board criticized the FDA for engaging in spying. In some ways, this ambiguity completely reflects how people feel about whistleblowers. Still, NYTimes, wtf?

Below the Fold:

–Department of Justice HR officials are implicated in a nepotism ring.

–Open government groups, led by the Government Accountability Project, issued rules for prior restraint of whistleblowers’ speech. I have called for the lead lobbyist’s resignation after the end of this congressional session.

–Senate bill would provide new protections for anti-trust whistleblowers.

–UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, who helped the IRS uncover the biggest tax fraud in U.S. history, has been released from prison after 30 months.

Send tips to dissent@dissentersdigest.com.

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A Dissenter’s Digest for July 8-21

Posted by on July 23, 2012 Comments Off

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at news stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Chilling Effect: Acting ATF Director B. Todd Jones spoke in an internal video to ATF employees where he appeared to admonish his subordinates not to blow the whistle outside the chain of command, lest they face “consequences.” He did not mention they have the right to do so under numerous laws, including the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and the Lloyd-La Follette Law of 1912, which allows civil servants to communicate with Congress without prior restraint. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa are investigating.

If Nixon had Keylogging Software: The New York Times reported last week that the Food and Drug Administration’s suspected surveillance of whistleblowers is bigger than previously believed, and includes tracking of sources outside the agency.

The FDA reportedly has developed an “enemies list” to push back against negative coverage of its oft-criticized review of drugs and medical devices. The list includes not only scientists employed within the FDA, but also congressmen, journalists, and outside medical researchers. These efforts have resulted in the collection of some 80,000 pages of documents that include private emails to Congress, draft whistleblower retaliation complaints, and communications with journalists and attorneys.

Senator Chuck Grassley took the lead in expressing outrage against what he previously called FDA’s “Gestapo” tactics.

Grassley’s review includes a demand for the legal memo authorizing the spying campaign, which began in mid-2010. Expect the focus to shift to FDA’s past and current chief counsels.

What’s In Your Wallet?: The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau announced its first enforcement action: a $210 million settlement with Capital One for deceptive marketing practices.

The allegations include misleading consumers about the benefits of Capital One products, which were not always depicted as optional. Some consumers were knowingly sold products they could not utilize, and others succumbed to “high-pressure tactics” to buy add-ons like payment protection and credit monitoring. In some instances, Capital One enrolled consumers in products without their consent, or led them to believe there was no additional cost.

Capital One will fully refund its customers at a cost of $140 million and pay another $25 million to the CFPB and another $35 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, totaling $210 million.

In other news, in-house corporate attorneys are concerned about CFPB enforcement actions.

Full disclosure: I have a Capital One card in my wallet.

Below the Fold:

–An environmental watchdog takes a look at Governor Romney’s anti-civil service track record in Massachusetts.

–24 percent of Wall Street executives believe they need to break the law to succeed; 16 percent would commit insider trading if they could get away with it, according to a survey done by the whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow.

–The Justice Department and the FBI are reviewing thousands of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted because of flawed forensic evidence. The whistleblower who first brought this to light almost 20 years ago will be monitoring progress. Legislation has already been introduced.

–A Navy whistleblower is now in charge of investigating whistleblower cases in the Defense Department.

–Penn State officials knew.

–A federal district court judge blew the whistle, in a way, about coercive plea bargain tactics that demand waiver of appeal rights in lieu of going to prison on unreasonably heavier charges.

–Some news outlets let political operatives approve quotes before they appear in print. Why not also let them write the articles?

–FDA isn’t the only agency snooping on its employees.

–Treasury officials, unauthorized gifts, prostitutes, and golf.

–The American Federation of Government Employees reached an agreement with the TSA to provide TSA officers personnel appeal rights at the Merit Systems Protection Board.

–The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission approved an 18-year-long race discrimination class action lawsuit brought by U.S. Marshals against the U.S. Marshal Service.

–The White House issued a memo to strengthen the rights of service members who return home and seek to reintegrate into the working force.

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FDA’s spying campaign wider than previously believed

Posted by on July 15, 2012 Comments Off

Even watching what you type (photo: Robbert van der Steeg / flickr)

In a story that almost defies comprehension, the New York Times is reporting that the Food and Drug Administration’s suspected surveillance of whistleblowers is bigger than previously reported, and includes tracking of sources outside the agency.

The FDA reportedly has developed an “enemies list” to push back against negative coverage of its oft-criticized review of drugs and medical devices. The list includes not only scientists employed within the FDA, but also congressmen, journalists, and outside medical researchers. These efforts have resulted in the collection of some 80,000 pages of documents that include private emails to Congress, draft whistleblower retaliation complaints, and communications with journalists and attorneys.

The FDA contracted with an outside firm to install “key logging” software in employees’ computers, which can record every key stroke and thus intercept draft letters and email passwords. The software was originally set up to collect and analyze surveillance results, but FDA officials used it to provide new leads and to map out new surveillance targets and issues of concern.

One of the congressmen on the list is Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who is number 14. His aide is number 13.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told the New York Times that FDA officials “have absolutely no business reading the private e-mails of their employees. They think they can be the Gestapo and do anything they want.”

An FDA contractor tasked with surveying real-time, intercepted communications apparently posted online a cache of documents by mistake. It has recently been taken down.

It is unknown if the surveillance continues to this day.

Source: In Vast Effort, F.D.A. Spied on E-Mails of Its Own Scientists

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Dissenters’ Digest for June 24–July 7

Posted by on July 8, 2012 Comments Off

(photo: Serguey / wikimedia)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at news stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability. Look for it every other Saturday evening at www.dissentersdigest.com.

See You In Court: House Republicans vowed to take Attorney General Eric Holder to court over documents withheld from Congress in its Fast and Furious scandal investigation.

Defiant: Ignoring a surrender order by the London police, Julian Assange has remained in the Ecuador embassy while awaiting President Correa’s decision on his political asylum request.

Abstention: The Justice Department won’t prosecute Attorney General Holder following Congress’ historic contempt vote.

Below the Fold:

–Jason Zuckerman, Senior Legal Adviser at the Office of Special Counsel, discussed how to foster a more ethical culture in the federal government.

–Special Counsel Lerner was commended for turning around the Office of Special Counsel.

–The U.S. Senate passed a bill to honor a Russian whistleblower who died mysteriously while under the custody of Russian authorities in 2009.

–An ATF manager who threatened to “take down” two Fast and Furious whistleblowers was assigned to supervise them. Senator Grassley and Rep. Issa are investigating.

–White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew claimed the Obama Administration is the “most transparent ever.”

–Senior executives in the federal government are now subject to new financial disclosure requirements.

–Wikileaks has unveiled 2 million emails [video] from Syrian government officials and rebels and U.S. corporations.

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A Dissenters’ Digest

Posted by on June 24, 2012 Comments Off

Stonewalled, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Contempt: A House committee voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to submit documents in connection with the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal. President Obama invoked executive privilege, for the first time, to shield the documents from Congress. The measure may soon be presented to the House for a final vote. Meanwhile, Democrats are decrying the move as a political “witch hunt.”

Stonewalled: Senator Chuck Grassley is getting stonewalled by the Food and Drug Administration over an inquiry that it’s been spying on federal whistleblowers. The Senate and related House investigations were sparked by a lawsuit filed by six FDA whistleblowers who were allegedly targeted for surveillance. The National Whistleblowers Center is representing them in court. Relatedly, the Office of Special Counsel, which is also investigating the FDA over the same matter, released a memo this week to the federal government, urging agencies not to spy on whistleblowers. Doing so, the memo said, might lead OSC to conclude that retaliation is afoot.

Looking Backwards: President George W. Bush ignored a number of the CIA’s pre-9/11 warnings, according to new FOIA documents declassified and revealed this week.

Cover-Up: An Army Lt. General is accused of blocking a corruption probe in Afghanistan to help President Obama’s re-election.

Below the Fold:

–The Supreme Court ruled federal employees challenging the constitutionality of statutes can only do so in the Merit Systems Protection Board.

–Moscow vowed ‘response’ if the United States passes a bill named for slain Russian whistleblower.

–After losing an extradition appeal, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange sought political asylum from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. President Rafael Correa will decide whether to grant Assange’s request.

–The Department of Justice is accused of undermininga FOIA ombudsman office.

–The IRS resisted using a whistleblower office to uncover tax fraud. Now it vows to do better.

–Senior executives in government are sweating a new financial disclosure requirement.

–The media apparently despises Julian Assange, whose journalistic efforts are making it look corrupt, incompetent, or both.

–Scott Bloch’s court docket is showing signs of life. Elsewhere, activists and whistleblowers are still waiting for the Justice Department to charge Bloch with criminal contempt of Congress, at a minimum.

–The Senate grilled Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta over the FAA’s unwillingness to listen to whistleblowers. FOIA documents will confirm or rebut his answer.

–Matt Taibbi looks at how Wall Street resembles the Mafia.

–A divided D.C. Circuit ruled a fired Library of Congress employee could not bring a constitutional lawsuit.

–The Senate appropriations committee continues to underfund the Office of Special Counsel.

–MSPB Watch takes a look at how Obama broke his campaign promise to whistleblowers and which establishment groups helped him erect a veal pen.

–Good government groups GAP and POGO are making false statements about disclosure channels for classified information and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.

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A Dissenter’s Digest

Posted by on June 10, 2012 Comments Off

(photo: caribbeanfreephoto/flickr)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability. Look for it every other Saturday evening at www.mspbwatch.net/digest .

Beyond Reproach: Efforts to pass the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act came under scrutiny this week after it was disclosed by the lead lobbyists that the bill will not contain any jury trial provisions, a long-sought reform. The admission came after the Make It Safe Campaign Steering Committee objected to an open letter to Congress which highlighted flaws in the current bill. However, grassroots efforts, lead by this author, pointed out that the Steering Committee has failed to engage the whistleblower community and the public in its lobbying activities, as well as practice transparency and accountability, the values it publicly champions. It remains to be seen whether the Steering Committee will take heed of suggested reforms, the rejection of which may well cost it considerable influence and credibility with the lowest common denominator that truly matters: federal whistleblowers.

Below the Fold:

–Tom Devine and Louis Clark of the Government Accountability Project authored an op-ed calling for “stronger” whistleblower protections.

–Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman and former Harry Reid aide Gregory Jaczko, who has been accused of bullying his own staff, will resign.

–Dover Mortuary officials have been punished for retaliating against whistleblowers.

–Advocates for accused U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning challenge government secrecy during Manning’s court martial.

–Right-of-center government accountability group sues the Federal Trade Commission over disparate treatment of FOIA handling.

–The government-run Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force is looking for whistleblowers to disclose mortgage-backed securities fraud.

–Little known fact: In 1968, as a 31-year old Army Major, Colin Powell tried to cover up the My Lai massacre in front of Congress. [cont'd.]

–In 1998, three Vietnam Veterans were quietly honored for putting themselves in the line of fire – American GI fire – by landing a helicopter to prevent the My Lai massacre.

–A Republican NLRB member resigns after leaking internal board rulings and internal documents to a Romney aide.

–BP covered up that an oil spill in the Caspian Sea in 2008 was caused by a mud cap that failed, the same method used in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

–The head of the National Weather Service resigns after improperly shifting funds within the agency.

–How the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs weakened a pilot fatigue rule.

–An OSHA whistleblower who disclosed cozy relations with industry will get a chance to argue for reinstatement following an appeals court ruling.

–An employment lawyer looks at the 12 Douglas factors that determine when a federal employee will lose or keep his job.

–Congress probes allegations of intimidation, covert surveillance of staff, and misuse of tax dollars within the Federal Maritime Commission.

–President Obama has his own 100-person terrorist death panel.

–Advice to corporations is offered: How to introduce an ethics hotline system into your company.

–A corporate-sponsored report shows that most whistleblowers report internally first.

–Could the GSA scandal encourage more whistleblowers?

–National security leaks may be calculated to portray Obama as a ruthless warrior.

–Following Congressional outrage, Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed two U.S. Attorneys to prosecute any unauthorized national security leaks.

–The State Department promotes freedom abroad but suppresses whistleblower here.

–The FBI keeps the agent who botched the Stevens case but hounds out the whistleblower.

–A state whistleblower triggers changes in North Carolina law regarding gag orders.

–The first bank has been criminally indicted for mortgage fraud. As an aside, during the S&L Scandal of the 1980′s, the Office of Thrift Supervision made over 30,000 criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Following the recent subprime mortgage fraud, which is 70x larger than the S&L scandal, the OTS made zero referrals.

–The Washington Post takes a fresh look at the Watergate scandal, 40 years later.

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A Dissenters’ Digest for May 13-19

Posted by on May 20, 2012 Comments Off

Whistle Suits (image: Truthout.org/flickr)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Federal Judge Strikes Down NDAA’s Indefinite Detention Provision: A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York struck down the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it constitutes an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment. The suit was brought by several journalists who feared their activities might fall under the reach of the law — substantially supporting al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces — without even knowing it, and facing indefinite detention for many years. The judge, Katherine Forrest, repeatedly offered government lawyers the opportunity to rebut the reporters’ fears, but they declined to do so.

Below the Fold:

–A Malaysian tribunal found George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfel, Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, Jay Bybee, David Addington and William J. Haynes guilty of war crimes.

–The Washington Post editorial board calls on the Federal Aviation Administration to take whistleblowers’ complaints seriously.

–The ACLU is weighing in on behalf of Peter Van Buren, the State Department whistleblower who wrote a book and blog critical of his employer’s exploits in Iraq.

–A Homeland Security House subcommittee looks at corruption inside DHS.

–Employees at a nuclear waste site in Washington state are coming forward, saying too many shortcuts are being taken in the construction of a facility to dispose the waste.

–An FBI crime lab whistleblower’s 20 year campaign to expose and correct violations of defendants’ due process rights is beginning to bear fruit.

–House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa is alleging the Federal Maritime Commission may be “an agency in crisis.”

–Union protectionism in 1994 may haunt whistleblowers and the Office of Special Counsel in 2012.

–Several whistleblowers and advocacy groups will host an annual conference in Washington, D.C., May 21-23.

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A Dissenters’ Digest for May 6-12

Posted by on May 13, 2012 Comments Off


Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Senate Passes the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012: In a rare show of unanimity, the Senate passed S. 743, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, this week, the latest attempt to update the Whistleblower Protection Act in 13 years. The last attempt, in December 2010, was defeated by a secret hold in the Senate, according to the Government Accountability Project. Not all are enthused with the bill’s protections, which “fall[] short of the comprehensive whistleblower law reforms promised in the 2008 political campaign,” notes Stephen Kohn of the National Whistleblowers Center. Now it’s up to the House to pass their version, H.R. 3289, before the two bills can be reconciled and sent to the President’s desk.

OSC Reports the FAA is Slow in Correcting Whistleblower Complaints: In a rare move, the Office of Special Counsel combined seven whistleblower disclosures from FAA employees into one report to the President and the Congress, citing “an ongoing series of troubling safety disclosures by air traffic controllers and other FAA employees” which have not been rectified by the Department of Transportation. The Special Counsel stated that the “FAA has one of the highest rates of whistleblower filings per employee of any executive branch agency: OSC received 178 whistleblower disclosures from FAA employees since FY 2007, 89 of which related to aviation safety. OSC referred 44 of those to DOT for investigation. DOT ultimately substantiated all but five of those referrals — 89 percent — in whole or in part. In four of the seven cases presented today, the whistleblower had to make repeat disclosures with OSC because the FAA took inadequate steps to correct the concern or failed to implement any corrective action.” The Washington Post has additional coverage.

Below the Fold:

–An internal Pentagon report claims the DoD left whistleblowers vulnerable to reprisal.

–Two F-22 pilots who refuse to fly the aircraft appeared on 60 minutes, claiming a malfunction causes oxygen deprivation aloft.

–The above notwithstanding, the Air Force is in the process of disciplining the F-22 pilots. Congress is expressing concern.

–An EPA scientist who lost her job after blowing the whistle on health dangers to 9/11 first responders prevailed at the Merit Systems Protection Board and will be reinstated.

–The media is silent when the Obama Administration goes after whistleblowers.

–An employment lawyer looks at the fuzzy definition of “gross waste of funds.”

–Thomas Drake speaks with Eliot Spitzer about the DOJ being used to cover up crimes of the Bush and Obama Administrations.

–The FBI is the most effective lobbyist against whistleblower protections, according to a radio interview with National Whistleblowers Center Executive Director Stephen Kohn.

–Former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary will file a whistleblower suit against the university over its handling of the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal.

–The Fourth Circuit revives claims by former Iraqi detainees against contractors who are alleged to have tortured them.

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Dissenters’ Digest for April 29-May 5

Posted by on May 6, 2012 Comments Off

(photo: Steven DePaulo/flickr)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Torture is Back in the News: The Government Accountability Project calls for the prosecution of admitted CIA torturer Jose Rodriguez, who recently crowed about destroying 92 video tapes of torture footage in a new book. Separately, Rodriguez alleges in his book that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi lied about tacitly approving waterboarding in 2002, according to the Washington Post. Further, UCLA law professor and torture memos author John Yoo is immune from liability in the United States for the torture of Jose Padilla, according to a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

–The Administrative Conference of the United States is teaming up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on regulatory reform. The Center for Progressive Reform objects.

–FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds overcomes FBI pre-approval for the publication of her book criticizing the FBI over 9/11 missteps.

–EPA whistleblower William Sanjour looks at why agencies fail to regulate properly, and offers prescriptive advice.

–The Department of Health and Human Services is in violation of the No FEAR Act of 2002, and has been since 2002, according to a recent Freedom of Information Act response.

–A federal court in New Orleans will preliminarily approve the $7.8 billion settlement with victims of the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.

–House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is preparing a contempt of Congress charge against Attorney Eric Holder over the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal.

–The Drug Enforcement Administration leaves a college student in a jail cell for five days without food or water.

–The Make It Safe Campaign, an umbrella group of whistleblower and government accountability advocates, is considering enfranchisement and open-process reforms following a general meeting last Tuesday.

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A Dissenters’ Digest for April 15-21

Posted by on April 22, 2012 Comments Off

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Justice Department Withheld Evidence of Flawed Forensic Procedures Used in Criminal Cases in the 1990′s: The Washington Post reports that the Department of Justice failed to notify defendants or their attorneys of possibly exculpatory evidence of flawed forensic procedures. FBI whistleblower Dr. Frederic Whitehurst disclosed improper procedures in the FBI crime lab almost 20 years ago, which led to a nine-year DOJ task force to determine if any defendants were wrongfully incarcerated. The Post notes in a separate article that the DOJ task force “operated in secret and with close oversight by FBI and Justice Department brass — including [then-Attorney General Janet] Reno and [FBI Director Louis] Freeh’s top deputy — who took steps to control the information uncovered by the group.” The National Whistleblowers Center, which counts Dr. Whitehurst as a director, has more coverage of this story.

Office of Special Counsel Roundup: The Office of Special Counsel issued a rare subpoena in the case of Pinal County (Arizona) Sheriff and Congressional candidate Paul Babeu, who is being investigated for violating the Hatch Act. The Arizona Republic reports that “[t]he special counsel is looking into allegations that Babeu and several key aides were working on his congressional campaign with county resources or while on the clock.”

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner is quoted in a Federal News Radio article about the GSA conference spending scandal. Lerner states that “[t]he value of this isn’t just about the $820,000. It’s really also about the scrutiny it brings to government waste by this one example. . . . Congress is holding hearings. Agencies now are going to be treading more carefully about the way they are spending money.”

Elsewhere, Senior Legal Advisor to the Special Counsel Jason Zuckerman speaks at a panel about ethical culture in government. Zuckerman notes that “[w]e are seeing a huge increase now in people who blow the whistle” and that “[w]e are getting about 2,800 in prohibited personnel practice complaints annually; two years ago, it was about 2,200. In 2002, it was about 1,600.”

Below the Fold:

–The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reports S. 743, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, to the Senate.

–The prosecutor in charge of the bungled Thomas Drake whistleblower prosecution is leaving the Department of Justice.

–A whistleblower who exposed GSA’s excessive conference spending testifies in front of Congress.

–Following the conference scandal at the GSA, the nonprofit watchdog Cause of Action wrote to OMB seeking a government-wide audit of agencies’ adherence to whistleblower laws. Separately, CoA is seeking from the Office of Special Counsel any whistleblower complaints it received about the GSA.

–LGBT activists plan to press the White House to sign an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from sexual orientation discrimination. Here’s a profile of one of the groups involved.

–A U.S. soldier blows the whistle on photos of troops posing with corpses in Afghanistan.

–A whistleblower from the Department of Veterans Affairs files a retaliation complaint with the Office of Special Counsel after disclosing “improper accounting measures regarding PTSD treatment of veterans.”

–Despite promising to strengthen the Federal Election Commission and “nominate members committed to enforcing our nation’s election laws,” President Obama has yet to come through on either promise.

–Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, launches a talk show on Russia Today.

–A State Department whistleblower alleges a high-level U.S. official engaged in sexual relations on the roof of the U.S. embassy in Iraq.

–The chief of police at UC-Davis is stepping down following a scathing report about the widely-condemned pepper spray incident there last November.

–A federal judge rules against CIA whistleblower “Ishmael Jones,” who wrote a scathing book without the agency’s permission. The whistleblower will forfeit all book profits to charity.

–NSA whistleblower William Binney discusses the agency’s billion dollar surveillance facility in Bluffdale, Utah.

–The Center for Progressive Reform looks at how OSHA became stymied by anti-regulatory causes.

–Slate looks at how America came to torture its prisoners.

–An ex-UK ambassador comes out in support of Bradley Manning.

–The mastermind behind the Watergate efforts to discredit Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg has died at the age of 80.

–Walmart covered up a massive bribery scandal in Mexico.

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A Dissenters’ Digest for April 1-7

Posted by on April 8, 2012 Comments Off

(photo: JNW Photography/flickr)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Justice Department Indicts Former CIA Officer, Whistleblower, and Torture Opponent: NPR reports that John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer and outspoken torture opponent, has been charged with violating the Espionage Act by sharing secret information with reporters. The Government Accountability Project notes that Kiriakou is the first and only person to be indicted by the U.S. government who is associated with the Bush Administration’s torture program. GAP further notes that Kiriakou is the sixth whistleblower to be prosecuted by the Obama Administration. Emptywheel has additional coverage.

Watchdog Uncovers State Department Memo Casting Doubt on Legality of Bush Administration’s Interrogation Techniques: As reported by Firedoglake, a 2006 State Department memo casting doubt on Justice Department arguments approving the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” has been uncovered. The author of that memo, Philip Zelikow, was a counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is believed that the Bush Administration attempted to destroy all copies of that memo, but the non-profit National Security Archive obtained one from the State Department through a Freedom of Information request. Emptywheel has additional coverage. Zelikow’s memo can be found here.

New York Times Report Portrays FDA as Victim of White House Politicization: The New York Times reports that FDA officials were instructed to reverse decisions such as publicizing the caloric content of movie-theater popcorn. The overall tenor of the piece portrays White House officials as shrewd and pragmatic, with FDA officials seen as public-minded, if not “naive.” However, there may be some image management going on following recent and troubling reports of retaliation and spying on whistleblowers, who came forward to allege corruption within FDA and the improper approval of unsafe medical devices. The Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into these allegations. GAP and the National Whistleblowers Center have coverage of the FDA.

Below the Fold:

–President Obama signs the STOCK Act, requiring financial disclosure by members of Congress and federal executives.

–Lavish Las Vegas conference costs top GSA officials their jobs. Congress is said to investigate.

–The Obama Administration quietly appoints a new FAA chief counsel with extensive ties to the White House.

–EEOC is urged to tackle conflicts of interest in discrimination complaint process.

–The U.S. government aims to protect secrecy in Bradley Manning’s court martial.

–The Office of Special Counsel is currently experiencing an 8-9 month delay in processing FOIA requests, according to recent communications with its FOIA officer.

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A Dissenters’ Digest for March 25-31

Posted by on April 1, 2012 Comments Off

ScanEagle UAV (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph M. Buliavac/Released)

Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability. .

Department of Justice’s Recent Actions Worry Accountability and Transparency Advocates: A number of actions taken by the Department of Justice have caught the attention of government accountability groups and civil libertarians this week.

First, Wired reports that the FBI advised its agents in training materials that they may “bend or suspend the law and impinge upon the freedom of others” under certain situations. That training material has since been changed.

Next, a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on the misconduct of federal prosecutors in the trial of the late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. A $1 million, 525-page court-appointed report found that these prosecutors withheld key evidence from Stevens’ defense counsel, in violation of ethical rules. The Stevens case was dropped by Attorney General Holder in April 2009. Following the publication of the report on May 15, Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation to prevent the reoccurrence of the same prosecutorial misconduct, which was met with anonymous opposition by DOJ officials. Emptywheel and the Blog of Legal Times have coverage of that opposition.

Finally, a DOJ proposed rule has caught the attention of Senators and FOIA advocates, who noted that DOJ seemed to be usurping the role of the newly-created FOIA ombudsman, the Office of Government Information Service (OGIS). OGIS is an agency within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and was created by the OPEN Government Act of 2007 to mediate disputes between requesters and federal agencies. Its station with NARA is not without purpose, as housing it within DOJ – which is responsible for defending federal agencies in FOIA lawsuits – would have created a conflict of interest. Senators Patrick Leahy and Jon Kyl sent a letter to Attorney General Holder, the Project on Government Oversight reports. DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs responded to POGO with a clarification that seems to put that particular matter to rest, but another FOIA matter is still under dispute.

Supreme Court Weakens Privacy Act: In a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that the Privacy Act does not authorize damages for emotional distress, NPR reports. The suit was brought by a pilot who sued the Social Security Administration for disclosing information to the FAA relating to his HIV status, causing him to lose his license and suffer emotional distress. In a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Breyer and Ginsburg, Justice Sotomayor writes that the ruling “cripples the Act’s core purpose of redressing and deterring violations of privacy interests.” The Washington Post has additional coverage. [cont'd.]

Congressmen Support Long-Suffering Whistleblower: Three House members recently submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in support of TSA Whistleblower Robert MacLean, according to the Orange County Register. In 2003, MacLean disclosed to the press a TSA plan to cut back on federal air marshals at a time of heightened security alerts. This prompted congressional outrage and the TSA plan was scrapped. MacLean’s case has been tied up in litigation since 2006, when he was terminated from the TSA. GovExec and GAP have additional coverage.

Obama Official Declares “Zero Tolerance” on Veterans’ Discrimination: John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, declared “zero tolerance” for discrimination against uniformed service members returning to their civilian jobs. Berry’s comments follow a report last month by The Washington Post that the U.S. government is the top offender of USERRA, the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which is designed to protect service members from discrimination in the workplace.

Below the Fold:

–The State Department moves to fire a prominent critic and whistleblower.

–GAO: Air Force has a disproportionate number of whistle-blower complaints within DOD.

–OccupyEPA takes to the streets, demands administrator’s resignation.

–A foreclosure fraud whistleblower reports being harassed by mortgage lender despite winning an $18 million award.

–A whistleblowers’ lawyer and a corporate lawyer mix it up on a whistleblower panel.

–Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) introduces a bill to reform the Senior Executive Service.

–The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board took no action to study work conditions at the Office of Special Counsel following the controversial tenure of ex-Special Counsel Scott Bloch, according to a recent FOIA request.

–A House Subcommittee hearing on low morale at the Department of Homeland Security but fails to call any employees as witnesses.

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