Auburn Journal: DC IRONY Strikes Again
This article draws attention to the irony of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) being killed by an anonymous secret hold, and summarizes GAP and On The Media’s three month Blow the Whistle project – a campaign to identify the senator who placed the secret hold.
That campaign ended last weekend, with the startling revelation that House Republican leadership asked one of two (remaining) senators to place the hold at the last minute.
Arizona Daily Star: Kyl Should Clear Up Secret Hold on Whistleblower Act
This piece spotlights Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona – one of only two remaining senators who refuses to deny that they were the party responsible for placing the secret hold on the WPEA. Mentions GAP Legislative Campaign Coordinator Shanna Devine.
Key Quote: After bipartisan consultation, a small section was taken out of the legislation, but nothing else was changed and it was sent back to the Senate on the last day of the session for another vote, according to Shanna Devine of the Government Accountability Project, which has fought for whistleblower protection. "Everything was the same on what he'd (Kyl) already approved," she said.
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Devine said the Government Accountability Project heard from several congressional offices that the secret hold was placed at the behest of the Republican leadership in the House – as a professional courtesy of sorts, to stall the bill until the next Congress, when its Republican majority in the House was seated.
Food Safety News: Test and Hold - 'This is Not a Sea Change'
The USDA announced last week a "test and hold" policy that would require processors of meat and poultry to delay sending their products to retailers until pathogen testing results confirmed they were safe. Former GAP client and whistleblower John Munsell said this mandate – which the meat industry has been lobbying for since 2008 – is "for PR image purposes" and does not address problems at the source of tainted product.
Prague Daily Monitor: Charter 77 to Award Corruption Whistleblower
Libor Michalek, the former head of the Czech Republic’s Environmental Fund who blew the whistle on corruption at the Environmental Ministry, will receive an award from the country’s Charter 77 Foundation. The foundation, which has been giving awards since 1987 to those who promote human and civil rights, seeks to honor Michalek for his "brave, systematic and intransigent struggle against corruption in the civil service."
GAP has been working with Czech nonprofits and the American Embassy to raise awareness of whistleblower and general accountability practices in that country. An episode of Whistle Where You Work focusing on the Czech Republic, which contains an interview segment with Mr. Michalek, will be available later this week.
Detroit News: Former Detroit Cop Touts Book About His Days Working for Kilpatrick
The whistleblower whose lawsuit helped catalyze the resignation of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for extensive corruption is releasing a tell-all book about his nine years as Kilpatrick’s bodyguard. The book details the wrongdoing committed by Kilpatrick and his close friends, including that they “racked up massive overtime, drank on duty, covered up car crashes and acted unprofessionally.”
Lindsay Bigda is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
