ETN: National Press Club Announces Press Freedom Award Winners for 2013NSA whistleblower Tom Drake at the National Press Club

The National Press Club has announced that its 2013 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award domestic recipient will be “The Whistleblower.” The award will honor all whistleblowers, past, present and future for their courageous endeavors that preserve the rights of American citizens, which often includes the defense of journalistic freedom. The domestic prize money will go towards education programs for sources and reporters on the protection of identities in a high-risk environment.

KUAF: New State Ag Law Meant to Muzzle Animal Rights


The Arkansas anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bill was mostly gutted before passing the state legislature, but its intent reflects the growing trend among several state bills to thwart undercover investigations of animal agriculture. GAP's Food Integrity Campaign Director Amanda Hitt discusses consumers' demand to know how their food is produced and the disparity between what they expect and the reality on industrial farms.

Key Quote: [Amanda Hitt:] "As an attorney who represents whistleblowers within agriculture, specifically USDA meat inspectors, I can tell you that they have told me stories of animal abuse that make these videos look like a sunny, happy Disney film."



Related Article: North Country Gazette

WWL–TV: Whistleblower – Practice of Workers Covering-Up Gulf Oil Spills Widespread

Numerous clean-up employee/whistleblowers have come forward regarding the dangerous cover-ups of oil spills taking place in the Gulf of Mexico, some saying that the corrupt practices and intimidation of employees has gone on for over 30 years. According to whistleblowers that have filed lawsuits on behalf of the federal government and failed to receive protection from federal prosecutors, clean-up contractors force employees to engage in practices such as using filtered water as samples or misrepresenting spill amounts. Illustrating how deeply entrenched in corruption and intimidation the industry is, one whistleblower said, “What happens offshore, stays offshore.”

This article comes just weeks after GAP released its report focusing on the cover-up of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the widely used dispersant, Corexit, which has made things exponentially worse. More Gulf clean-up workers are coming forward with devastating stories of wrongdoing in the aftermath of these disasters.

ABC News: Obama Administration Denies Benghazi Whistleblowers Being Kept Quiet

A lawyer representing a State Department employee who survived the September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya said her client had been blocked from testifying about the attacks due to classified information obstacles. She reportedly inquired about the process for clearing attorneys to receive sensitive information from their clients without a response. It wasn't until after the lawyer appeared on Fox News to discuss the issue that she received instructions from the Department on how lawyers representing Benghazi whistleblowers may seek clearances to handle classified information.

Related Article: Washington Post

WOAI: Whistleblower Says Free Cell Phone Program More Wasteful Than Most Realize

The FCC's Lifeline program that gives away free cell phones to qualifying low-income consumers faces debate in Congress amidst reports of mismanagement and waste. One whistleblower who worked for the program said she was told to pull out addresses from a phone book to sign more people up without their knowledge.

Food Safety News: More Time to Decide Whether to Sign or Veto TN "Ag Gag"

Today may be the earliest that Tennessee's anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bill reaches Governor Bill Haslam's desk, after which he has until at least May 14 or 15 to decide whether he will sign or veto the controversial legislation.

FierceGovernment: Federal Air Marshal Wins Appeal in Whistleblower Case

More coverage of TSA whistleblower and GAP client Robert MacLean's case and the recent federal appeals court decision that reinforces the strength of federal whistleblower protections.

Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fired Pharmacist Sues Memorial on Whistleblower Grounds

A former hospital pharmacist in Florida alleges that he was fired for reporting concerns about compliance issues to his superiors, including the improper storage and dispensing of controlled substances. The whistleblower, who has been a licensed pharmacist in the state since 1983, has filed a lawsuit against hospital officials.

Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.

GovExec: Ruling in TSA Air Marshal Case Hailed by Whistleblower Advocates

This story recaps the recent appeals court decision in favor of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) whistleblower and GAP client Robert MacLean that effectively reinforces the strength of federal whistleblower protections. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner welcomed the ruling, as did GAP and fellow whistleblower advocates.

Key Quote: The Government Accountability Project, which represented MacLean, hailed the decision “as a major victory for federal whistleblowers, and an important judicial decision outlining that statutory free speech rights trump conflicting federal agency regulations.”

First Ag Gag Test Case Dismissed in Utah

A woman who filmed a slaughterhouse in Utah from the roadside recently became the first person prosecuted under one of the anti-whistleblower Ag Gag laws. However, all the charges were dropped yesterday amidst media pressure and questionable evidence. GAP's Food Integrity Campaign details the case and its implications.

BuzzFeed: A Snapchat for Whistleblowers

This article looks at the technology available to whistleblowers who wish to report wrongdoing anonymously. Many new encrypted messaging apps have been developed to allow individuals to anonymously send sensitive information that is then destroyed afterwards.

Key Quote: We are at an odd moment in history of whistle-blowing. On the one hand, the internet and email have, in aggregate, made certain types of whistle-blowing much easier and more accessible. "Technology helps effective whistle-blowing by helping people overcome fear, get solidarity from stakeholders and the public who are victimized, and hold wrongdoers accountable," says Tom Devine, the legal director at the Government Accountability Project, one of the largest whistle-blower protection organizations.

Herald-Standard: Casey Backs Comprehensive Mine Safety Legislation

Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa) is backing mine safety legislation that would strengthen whistleblower protections for miners and increase penalties for individuals who knowingly violate mine safety laws.

Guardian: How HMRC Treated its Goldman Sachs Tax Deal Whistleblower

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – the UK's tax collection agency – reportedly used investigative powers meant to combat large-scale criminal tax frauds to investigate one of its own employees who had unveiled illegal tax dealings. The whistleblower disclosed that HMRC senior managers had quietly let off Goldman Sachs from paying millions of pounds in tax penalties.

Coast to Coast AM: Military Whistleblowers/Missing Identity

This radio segment discusses the new film War on Whistleblowers, featuring an interview with filmmaker Robert Greenwald and military whistleblower/GAP client Franz Gayl, whose story is chronicled in the film.

Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.

King5.com: Dept. of Energy Helps Hanford Contractors Fight Whistleblowers
Walt Tamosaitis
The Department of Energy (DOE) has given contractors at the Hanford Nuclear Facility more than one million taxpayer dollars to pay for legal fees in the case against Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis. Tamosaitis, a former engineer at Hanford's Waste Treatment Plant, revealed safety problems that ultimately led to changes in the plant's design, but was reassigned to another post in retaliation. GAP spin-off organization Hanford Challenge brought the evidence of this shocking discovery to the media.

Tamosaitis has been a featured speaker on GAP's American Whistleblower Tour. He spoke about his whistleblowing at Whitman College last fall, and will be appearing at Portland State University on May 22.

Key Quote: Today, the watchdog group Hanford Challenge obtained DOE documents that show contractors were eligible for nearly two million dollars in tax payer dollars to pay for legal fees to fight Tamosaitis’s case.

Hanford Challenge Executive Director Tom Carpenter said using government money to help multi-billion dollar companies fight charges from a respected whistleblower could discourage other employees from pointing out serious safety flaws.

Federal Circuit's Decision Restores Cornerstone of Whistleblower Protection

Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of GAP client Robert MacLean, a Federal Air Marshal who was terminated after alerting the public of an ill-conceived Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plan to remove Marshals from airline flights vulnerable to hijackings. The decision restores Whistleblower Protection Act rights for MacLean, and is being hailed as a major victory for federal whistleblowers.

Greener Ideal: Whistleblowers – BP Knowingly Poisoned Oil Cleanup Crew

More coverage of GAP's recent report on the human and environmental health impacts of the dispersant that BP used after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In another related story, a former contract employee for W&T Offshore claims that offshore oil workers regularly cover-up wrongdoing in the industry, including the doctoring of water samples. The whistleblower stated he's been fired multiple times for reporting violations, and can't get a job offshore as a result.

Associated Press: Court Filing – Ex-Chef Knows of Va. Gov Wrongdoing

A former chef at the Virginia governor's mansion filed court papers yesterday stating he gave evidence to the state attorney general office, the state police and the FBI alleging lavish gift-taking and other wrongdoing involving Gov. Bob McDonnell. The filing came as part of a motion seeking to dismiss embezzlement charges against him.

Related Article: Washington Post

CIA Spends Millions to Appease Afghan Warlords

GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack blogged yesterday about the CIA paying tens of millions of off-the-books dollars to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan warlords in order to appease them, sans accountability or apparent effectiveness.

Rolling Stone: Undercover at the Tar Sands

An anonymous worker helping to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline provides a detailed first-hand account of work-life near the tar sands in northern Alberta, Canada. The author discusses worker safety issues, as well as the local culture of drug use, drinking and broken marriages.

Inforrm's Blog: Responsibility in Public Office?

Cathy James of Public Concern at Work – the UK's leading NGO focusing on whistleblowing – calls out the wrongful prosecution of whistleblowers who exposed the Cumbria police commissioner's excessive expenses using public dollars.

Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.

Originally Posted on DailyKos.com

Over 2,000 American troops have given their lives in the war in Afghanistan. Countless Afghan civilians are dead. Thousands more Americans and Afghans have been wounded.

Remember that when reading the New York Times report on the CIA's paying tens of millions of off-the-books cash to Afghanistan President Karzai.

For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan’s president

"Operation Enduring Freedom" is more like Operation Enduring Bribery.

Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit effectively restored the cornerstone for enforcement of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), the key whistleblower protection law for most federal employees. The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is hailing the decision as a major victory for federal whistleblowers, and an important judicial decision outlining that statutory free speech rights trump conflicting federal agency regulations.

The court overturned a U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ruling that upheld the termination of Federal Air Marshal (FAM) and GAP client Robert MacLean. MacLean successfully warned the media, public and congressional officials of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to cancel Marshal coverage during a 2003 al Qaeda terrorism plot – confirmed by intelligence agencies – that involved suicide airplane hijackings in what would have been a more ambitious effort than the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

McKnight's Long-Term Care News: HHS Wants $10 Million Potential Payday for Medicare Fraud Whistleblowers

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed increasing the maximum potential award given to Medicare fraud whistleblowers from $1000 to $9.9 million per whistleblower. HHS estimates that it will recover an additional $24.5 million per year if the rule is enacted. The Department based the change on a similar award program the IRS implemented for tax fraud whistleblowers.

Related Article: Reuters

Tampa Bay Times: Health Survey Watching Cleanup Workers from 2010 Gulf Oil Spill

The National Institutes of Health is undertaking a decade-long study on the health of cleanup workers who came into contact with oil after BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster. According to the article, study findings so far don't reflect the shocking reports released by GAP of cleanup workers who experienced a wide range of ailments after being exposed to the dispersant that BP sprayed on the oil.

On Friday, The Rachel Maddow Show provided lengthy coverage on the health impacts of dispersant use after the oil spill, interviewing Newsweek journalist Mark Hertsgaard who revealed whistleblower concerns in his investigative piece based on GAP's report.

Key Quote: ... Sandler's findings so far are in sharp contrast to the results of a study released Friday by the Government Accountability Project that focused on complaints about health problems among workers exposed to the dispersant that BP sprayed on the spreading oil three years ago.

Workers complained of a wide range of ailments including blood in their urine, heart palpitations, memory loss, rapid weight loss, seizures, skin irritation and temporary paralysis, the report said. Many said they either received no safety training or were chastised for raising safety questions.

Food Safety News: Indiana Lawmakers Went Home this AM Without "Ag Gag"

The controversial Ag Gag bill moving through Indiana's General Assembly was effectively killed Friday when there failed to be a vote on the measure before adjourning for the year. Attempts by the State Senate to add explicit anti-whistleblower language essentially led to the bill's defeat.

Associated Press: NYPD Whistleblower Gets Rat Sticker Placed on Locker

One New York police officer said he faced whistleblower retaliation – including harassment, a transfer to another precinct, as well as a rat sticker placed on his locker – after testifying in federal court about alleged wrongful street stops made by the state police department. The article draws parallels to the story of whistleblower Frank Serpico, who stated that not much has changed since he revealed (in the 1970s) a corrupt culture that encouraged police officers to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing.

Money News: Clock Ticking for SEC on Crisis Prosecutions

The Supreme Court ruled that the SEC must complete enforcement actions within five years of financial crimes, giving regulators little time left to prosecute crimes involved in the 2008 financial crisis.

Advocate: Bradley Manning Supporters to Protest SF Pride

A group of gay and lesbian activists is calling for a protest against the San Francisco Pride Committee's rescinding of naming whistleblower Bradley Manning as a grand marshal of this summer's Pride march and celebration. Since Manning's trial is set to begin in June, he would have served as grand marshal in absentia.

Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.