by Hannah Johnson
on May 21, 2012
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2012 )
 As we blogged about on Friday, if you’re thinking of going to the Whistleblower Summit: Civil & Human Rights Conference today, there’s plenty for you to see. Events are happening from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The conference aims to address pressing issues like the Obama administration’s war on intelligence whistleblowers, the cost of retaliation against whistleblowers, working with the media, and whistleblower protection legislation, among others.
In particular, you should think about attending the opening plenary session, which will talk about whistleblower protection legislation (like the recent Senate passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act) and features GAP Legal Director Tom Devine.
The other events today include a panel discussion on whistleblowers and the media (2 p.m.) and a welcome reception in the evening (5 p.m.). You can see the full schedule (and locations) of events here.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
by Hannah Johnson
on May 21, 2012
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2012 )
 Federal Times: Now More Than Ever, Stronger Whistleblower Protection Essential
Summary: GAP President Louis Clark and Legal Director Tom Devine argue in this op-ed that, in light of the excessive spending scandal of the General Services Administration and a recent survey showing whistleblower retaliation against federal employees is widespread, now is a perfect time to enact better protections for such workers.
Key Quote: Today's whistle-blowers, in comparison to 20 years ago, are nine times more likely to be fired; six times more likely to be suspended; nearly five times more likely to receive a grade-level demotion; 2½ times as likely to be assigned to a different geographical region; and twice as likely to be denied a promotion.
…
It is hard to know who or what to blame for this apparent increase in abusive behavior. But the pathetic legal rights that federal whistle-blowers "enjoy" must be the key culprit.
Zee News (India): Four Held in Whistleblower Officer’s Murder Case
Summary: An Indian police officer who blew the whistle on housing scams was attacked last week, allegedly for his disclosures. He died over the weekend from the wounds he sustained. Four people have been taken into custody in connection with the attack.
Related Article: Times of India
Read more »
by Jesselyn Radack
on May 21, 2012
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2012 )
 First Amendment written on the front of the Newseum in Washington, DCEvents of just last week reveal a full-on assault on the First Amendment. Since it seems our government has forgotten, the First Amendment reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
There are no exceptions in the text, but in practice, more and more often our government only applies the First Amendment when convenient.
"Free Exercise of Religion" – EXCEPT for Muslims. Last week a Muslim-American toddler was removed from an airplane for being on the no-fly list. And this is just one of many recent policies unjustly targeting Muslim-Americans, from racist law enforcement training materials, to surveillance in Mosques, to prosecution under material support for terrorism laws. Even the New York Times has published commentary on the "Separate Justice System" for Muslims.
"Freedom of Association" – EXCEPT with dissenters, as evidenced by the Storm Trooper-esque police force that literally beat back peaceful protesters at Chicago's NATO meeting:
Some among the hundreds of officers repeatedly struck protesters with police batons
Read more »
by Hannah Johnson
on May 18, 2012
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2012 )
So, what are you doing early next week? You have no plans? Great. Because it's time for this year's whistleblower rights conference!
For the past several years, there is usually one primary whistleblower rights conference held in the Washington, DC area. This year's conference, Whistleblower’s Summit: Civil & Human Rights Conference, will take place next Monday-Wednesday at a variety of locations around town. While GAP is not organizing this conference, GAP staff will be participating in many of the events.
The conference aims to address pressing issues like the Obama administration’s war on intelligence whistleblowers, the cost of retaliation against whistleblowers, working with the media, and whistleblower protection legislation, among others.
While whistleblower conferences are an annual event, this year’s is different, as GAP is not the primary organizer and sponsor. But this conference comes after a boon to whistleblower protections earlier this month – when the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act passed the US Senate by unanimous consent. This legislation would enhance the protections from retaliation given to government whistleblowers. GAP hailed this decision when it happened.
Highlighted events for the conference include:
Click here for an overview of the conference, locations of each event, and a full schedule!
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
by Hannah Johnson
on May 18, 2012
(
2012 )
 National Journal: New FBI Probe of Bomb Plot Highlights Administration’s Tough Stance on Leaks
Summary: The FBI has launched a criminal probe aimed at identifying the officials who leaked details about a foiled al-Qaeda bomb plot, where the plan was to down an airplane with “a sophisticated underwear bomb.” While the Obama administration has been aggressively clamping down on intelligence and national security whistleblowers by charging them under the Espionage Act and labeling them as “leakers,” this action is markedly different, writes GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack in a blog post this morning. Radack differentiates this investigation from others, as this reveal of information “appears to have come from the administration for political gain,” not from whistleblowers exposing wrongdoing.
Crosscut (WA): Ring the Alarm – Hanford’s Lack of a Nuclear Safety Culture
Summary: In recent months, two managers at the Hanford nuclear facility have filed complaints with the Department of Labor, alleging safety risks. This is in addition to the suit filed by Walt Tamosaitis, also alleging issues with the safety of the plant. All three have also faced retaliation for coming forward. As evidenced by this, workers are not encouraged to report safety issues and the Hanford safety culture as a whole is hostile to whistleblowers, despite vindication with some issues from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Read more »
by Jesselyn Radack
on May 18, 2012
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2012 )
The government's not ticked that the Underwear Bomber II ("undie-bomber") plot got out, they're just pissed about the sputtering, messy, and misleading way in which it got out.
The National Journal has a piece on how "New FBI Probe of Bomb Plot Highlights Administration's Tough Stance on Leaks." As evidence of Obama's crackdown on leakers--which, until now, has been primarily a war on whistleblowers--it offers the fact that the FBI has launched a criminal probe to identify the government officials who leaked the undie-bomb plot as
the latest indication of the Obama administration's unrelenting push to find and punish those sharing classified information with the media.
But I distinguish this "leak," which appears to have come from the administration for political gain, from those by whistleblowers trying to expose government wrongdoing--some of whom are my clients mentioned in the National Journal article. In the case of the undie-bomber, the leak appears to be government self-aggrandizement--not a government employee trying to disclose evidence of wrongdoing--at the expense of sources, methods and possibly an undercover intelligence agent's identity.
In the initial Associated Press version (which turns out not to have been the original since the L.A. Times did an earlier version), the Underwear Bomber II ("undie-bomber") plot was initially spun as
[t]he CIA thwarting an ambitious plot by al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen [AQAP] to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden . . . The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought a plane ticket when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It's not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.
Read more »
by Hannah Johnson
on May 17, 2012
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2012 )
 ACLU: State Department Violating Whistleblower Peter Van Buren’s Constitutional Rights
Summary: The American Civil Liberties Union has come out in support of State Department whistleblower and GAP client Peter Van Buren, telling the agency that firing Van Buren would violate his constitutional rights. Van Buren wrote a book, and has kept a blog, critical of the department’s reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
GAP’s Jesselyn Radack lauds this action and also criticizes the agency for sending “a chilling message to all other State Department employees who might witness waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, illegality or dangers to health and public safety that exposing such wrongdoing is just as dangerous to a career – if not more so – than committing it."
WPFW (DC): Tom Devine on the WPEA
Summary: GAP Legal Director Tom Devine appeared on the Freedom of Speech program yesterday to talk about the recent Senate passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. The WPEA passed by unanimous consent earlier this month.
Epoch Times (Canada): Create Strong Protection for Whistleblowers, Watchdog Tells Alberta
Summary: GAP’s counterpart in Canada, FAIR, is calling on the Alberta premier to keep her promise to introduce whistleblower legislation to protect those who would expose corruption or wrongdoing.
Read more »
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