Have a Claim?

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-212-350-2774

Trump's War on Leaks is Really a War on Whistleblowers

Posted  August 11, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Constantine Cannon attorneys Harry Litman and Molly Knobler recently opined on the Trump administration’s obsessive campaign against leakers and whistleblowers in comments published by CNN:

No one would quarrel with the Trump administration’s efforts to clamp down on genuine national-security leaks. But his administration has lumped together this traditional law enforcement function with virulent attacks on “leakers” as part of an autocratic campaign to govern in secrecy—and that puts all of us at risk.

Sessions has a point—not all whistleblowing deserves praise. Governments do have legitimate reasons to shield certain information, especially sensitive or classified information, from public view. The Obama administration was doggedly successful, for example, in enforcing the Espionage Act, drawing criticism by some for the number of cases pursued against leakers.

The Trump administration has taken it much further, however, declaring war on reporting of White House goings-on. Donald Trump has made attacking leakers his signature move in response to revelations of questionable conduct in the White House. 

Read more here.