New Documentary SILENCED Raising Money on Kickstarter to Tell the Story of Government Whistleblowers
Oscar-nominated filmmaker James Spione is producing a new documentary, SILENCED, about the war on intelligence whistleblowers. It will feature GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack, along with whistleblowers (and GAP clients) Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou and Peter Van Buren. To raise funds for the documentary, Spione has launched a Kickstarter campaign. Learn more about the campaign and watch the trailer on the GAP blog.
Bloomberg: Obama Memo On ‘Sensitive’ Jobs Stirs Whistleblower Fears
President Obama released a transparency-threatening memorandum late last month which seeks, from key intelligence officers, "new rules to allow federal agencies to fire employees without appeal if their work has some tie to national security." The designation would indicate that employees are unable to appeal any decision removing them from their place of employment.
Coupled with other recent legal decisions, essentially the memo could disable whistleblower rights for federal government employees who have the most opportunity to protect the public at large. GAP's Legal Director Tom Devine and troop safety whistleblower (and GAP client) Franz Gayl are prominently featured.
Key Quote: “There is so much secrecy, and employees have so few rights already in the national security bureaucracy,” said Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, a Washington-based whistle-blower advocacy group. Devine said whistle-blowers’ actions can save lives.
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He cited a case involving Franz Gayl, a Marine Corps science and technology adviser. Gayl raised questions in 2007 over the postponed delivery of mine-resistant armored vehicles for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and later lost his security clearance."
HuffPost Live: Do Whistleblowers Need More Protection?
Devine, GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack and former GAP client Kenneth Kendrick discuss the current state of whistleblower rights in today’s work environment. Kendrick blew the whistle on the Peanut Corporation of America plant where he worked after discovering health and safety hazards were causing deadly salmonella in peanuts.
Food Service Workers Win a Voice at American University; Push Continues at Other DC Campuses (VIDEO)
GAP's Food Integrity Campaign discusses the success of UNITE HERE in including whistleblower protections in union contracts for American University food service workers. The organization is pushing for stronger worker voices at campus dining halls throughout the nation's capital.
Reuters: Court Blocks Whistleblower Suit over Unapproved Meds
A federal court in Massachusetts dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit after determining that the person who blew the whistle based her claims on facts also available to the general public. Under the False Claims Act, a plaintiff cannot sue agencies in the healthcare or pharmaceutical sector if the facts being used against those agencies are technically listed in public domain sources. The Department of Justice has declined to intervene.
The Herald: Another Reardon Related Whistleblower Complain?
The Washington State Auditor's office has been asked to investigate a prominent county prosecuting attorney’s office. The request comes after a local legislative aide filed a complaint.
Jack Davis is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
