Whistleblower Insider Blog

Whistleblower News from the Inside - December 20, 2013

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Another banner year for DOJ whistleblowers – The DOJ announces it recovered $2.9B this year from False Claims Act cases brought by whistleblowers and that 752 such cases were filed, 100 more than the record number filed last year.  DOJ Panel urges restrictions on NSA spying – Providing further redemption for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, an Obama-appointed panel of...

Legislative Update: Proposed Amendment to Military Whistleblower Protection Act

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The House last week approved section 1714 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would revamp what many believe to be the weak and ineffective Military Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 (“MWPA”).  This amendment, if passed, would strengthen the protections afforded to those in the military who report sexual assault, fraud or other misconduct.  It was...

The Redemption of Edward Snowden: Court Denounces NSA Phone Collection Program as “Almost-Orwellian” and Likely Unconstitutional

By Gordon Schnell It is the first ruling by a court on the constitutionality of the NSA’s bulk collection of phone data disclosed by Edward Snowden.  Not one of those secret, slanted FISA courts created under the Foreign Service Intelligence Act.  But the good old-fashioned kind of court subject to the regular rules of transparency and accountability that make our judicial system one of the best in the...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - December 17, 2013

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Federal judge rules NSA’s bulk collection of phone records likely unconstitutional – Somewhat redeeming the exploits of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, DC District Judge Richard Leon finds the NSA’s sweeping collection of U.S. phone records “indiscriminate,” “arbitrary,” “almost Orwellian,” and an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. 

Whistleblower News from the Inside - December 13, 2013

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team FDA finally takes steps to restrict antibiotics in livestock – The new rule would bar farmers and ranchers from using the wonder drugs to fatten up their cows, pigs and chickens, but many complain of a loophole that would allow continued use of antibiotics for disease “prevention.”  NYT SEC whistleblower program helping DOJ – Ron Knox, head of DOJ’s criminal fraud...

24 Steps Forward and 1 Giant Step Back on the Path to UK Whistleblower Reform

By Gordon Schnell Major kudos to Public Concern at Work (PCW), the highly regarded UK whistleblower charity, for its recent report on how best to advance whistleblowing in the Commonwealth.  It contains 25 recommendations to encourage more people to say something when they see something wrong in their workplace, and protect them from retaliation for doing so.  If adopted, the recommendations could go a long way...

What’s in Your Herbal Supplement?

By Gordon Schnell The herbal supplement trade has grown into a multi-billion dollar business because these alternative remedies offer the promise of treating the old fashioned way some of our most nagging conditions.  No prescriptions.  No drugs.  No chemicals.  No synthetic compounds.  Just a simple dose of some unadulterated organic goodness.  What better way of tending to that nasty cold or flu, or dealing...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - December 10, 2013

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Feds approve long-awaited Volcker Rule – The newest Dodd-Frank provision will try to draw a line between everyday banking and Wall Street wheeling-dealing by, among other things, barring banks from trading for their own gain.  NYT Sysco to buy US Foods rival for $3.5B – Assuming regulatory approval, the merger will create a food distribution giant with $65B in annual revenue...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - December 6, 2013

  By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team What are these Bitcoins anyway? – Whatever they are, tread carefully because “fraud, hacking and outright theft [] have become an increasingly regular part of the virtual currency world” with little regulatory response.  NYT Obama admits Snowden raised issues of legitimate concern – But also says the whistleblower disclosures have been “highly sensationalized” and...

2013 Corruption Index “Paints a Worrying Picture”

By Marlene Koury Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index yesterday which “paints a worrying picture” of worldwide corruption.  The index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 177 countries and ranks them on a scale of 0 to 100.  A score of 100 signifies that the country is “very clean” and a score of 0 signifies that the country is “highly...