This article looks at the many steps the Obama administration has taken to “dramatically expand the war on whistleblowers.” These steps include the Department of Justice's dredging up of past leak cases, as well as its increased targeting of journalists in an attempt to uncover their sources.
MSNBC: DOJ Gets Reporter's Phone, Credit Card Records in Leak Probe
A court filing this week has revealed that, as part of a leak probe, the Justice Department used subpoenas to obtain personal records (telephone, credit, and bank statements) of a journalist connected to the case. The records of New York Times reporter James Risen were obtained as part of an investigation into Jeffrey Sterling – the ex-CIA official who was indicted on the grounds that he leaked classified information to Risen.
A former DOJ prosecutor, speaking anonymously, says that it is not uncommon for investigators in leak cases to use aggressive tactics such as subpoenas in an attempt to identify journalists’ sources.
Washington Post: Farm Bureau Takes Aim at EPA Limits on Pollutant Runoff into Chesapeake Bay
The American Farm Bureau Federation (a prominent lobbying organization) has filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping the EPA's "pollution diet," which would limit pollutants that end up in the Chesapeake Bay from surrounding farms. The action appears not to be about the Bay region, but rather aimed at stemming future EPA regional rules for other areas of the country, including the Mississippi Delta and Midwest. The Farm Bureau "sees the cleanup effort as a harbinger of more far-reaching EPA requirements across the country, including in the Mississippi River basin, where chemical runoff from industrial farms is swept to the Gulf of Mexico."
The New York Times: Galleon Whistleblower Agrees to Testify
A whistleblower and former employee of the Galleon Group hedge fund has agreed to testify in a case targeting the company’s founder, who is being accused of “operating a vast network of sources” in order to trade on inside information.
Boston Globe: Stop & Shop Protest March Urges More Pay for Tomato Farmers
Demonstrators in Boston called on the supermarket chain Stop & Shop to improve wages and working conditions for tomato farmworkers in Florida. A farmworker coalition representative said the company has refused to negotiate with them.
Lindsay Bigda is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
