Importance of Whistleblowers

Yes, we need whistleblower rewards

By Gordon Schnell (published in The FCPA Blog) Congress could not have been any clearer in its statutory design. Nor the SEC any more outspoken in its revitalized approach to government enforcement. Whistleblower rewards work. Even more, they are an indispensable component of the modern regulatory scheme. This is borne out in the unmistakable success of the Dodd-Frank and False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower...

In Their Own Words — Grassley

-- “WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE HEROES.  THEY OUGHT TO BE CELEBRATED, NOT IGNORED, SIDELINED OR FIRED.  WHISTLEBLOWERS WERE CRITICAL IN EXPOSING THE VA SCANDALS, AND THEY’RE CRITICAL TO FIXING WHAT’S WRONG AT THE AGENCY.”

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) commenting on the introduction of the bi-partisan VA Patient Protection Act.  Click here for more.

In Their Own Words — McCaskill

-- "[W]histleblowers play a critical role in protecting tax dollars by shining a light on waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government."

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), in a letter she wrote yesterday to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus calling for more information on how the Navy is dealing with Rear Admiral Brian Losey who "despite a recommendation from the Department of Defense Inspector General . . . is not being...

In Their Own Words — Kiriakou

-- "All of us need to start treating whistleblowers as guardians, not traitors.  And if we value what freedoms we have left, we should demand that our government do the same."

John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst and whistleblower and now an associate fellow for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.

New Campaign Aimed at Wall Street Whistleblowers

By Marlene Koury A new whistleblower platform and campaign was launched this week in hopes of encouraging banking and financial sector employees to blow the whistle on unfair practices and corruption.  The campaign -- Whistleblow Wall Street – will include billboards on Wall Street, along with a leaflet campaign in New York, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and Orlando. The campaign aims to connect with anyone...

SEC Chair Gives Big Shout Out for Whistleblowers

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="288"] Photo Credit: sec.gov[/caption] By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Yesterday, SEC Chair Mary Jo White spoke at Northwestern University Law School on the invaluable role of the corporate whistleblower and the still burgeoning SEC whistleblower program that she describes as a "game changer" for government enforcement.  Here is her summary of the program's many...

DOJ Gets Failing Marks For Treatment Of FBI Whistleblowers

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week released its much anticipated report on the Department of Justice's treatment of FBI whistleblowers.  The GAO's findings do not speak well of the government's treatment of this particular class of intelligence whistleblower.  In short, the GAO found the DOJ has not properly handled complaints of FBI whistleblower...

War On Whistleblowers Continues To Sink United States World Press Freedom Ranking

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The United States continues to fall in how it compares to the rest of the free (and not so free) world in its freedom of the press.  At least that is the view of the international press rights group, Reporters Without Borders (RWB), in its just-released 2015 World Press Freedom Index.  It is the most recent edition of RWB's annual survey of how much freedom journalists and...