Laws Protect Ukraine Whistleblower’s Anonymity: Attorneys Eric Havian, Mike Ronickher, and Max Voldman write for USA Today
Multiple laws protect the Ukraine whistleblower’s right to anonymity and lawmakers well know it despite their contrary assertions, write Constantine Cannon partners Eric Havian and Mike Ronickher, and attorney Max Voldman in an Opinion piece published in USA Today. Protections against retaliation for the Ukraine whistleblower are found in a number of statutes, including the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act and the Inspector General Act. Knowledge of the potential violation of such laws is keeping lawmakers from naming the whistleblower, likely on the prudent advice of counsel. Constantine Cannon’s whistleblowers attorneys have many years’ experience with whistleblower programs at agencies – such as the SEC and IRS – that respect and protect the anonymity of whistleblowers. Such agencies tend to understand that most often the whistleblower’s primary role is merely to provide a roadmap — to expose and point investigators to paths of fraud and corruption. As CC’s attorneys explain in USA Today, ultimately the government’s case often depends on the facts and on first-hand witnesses other than the whistleblower. Disclosing the whistleblower’s identity serves “no legitimate purpose” and only serves to “shift the story to the whistleblower’s irrelevant credibility, with the added bonus of deterring future whistleblowing.” For the Ukraine whistleblower, their “service is done. It is up to the witnesses now.”
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Tagged in: Anonymity, CC Lawyers, Importance of Whistleblowers, Retaliation,