All Things Whistleblower: A GAP Blog

Sick of Yoo

John Yoo, the Bush administration lawyer whose memos authorized waterboarding for suspected terrorists, has been active in defending his actions in public by making speeches and writing op-eds. Lawsuits against Yoo have not been dropped, allowing for a case accusing him of violating the constitutional rights of a detainee. In these civil cases, Yoo has been defended by private counsel on the taxpayer’s dime – meaning at a rate of about $200 per hour.

FEMA’s Use of Dangerous Trailers with Formaldehyde Criticized

A new report criticizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for not quickly responding to and eradicating formaldehyde found in trailers given to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, reports the Associated Press. Formaldehyde can pose health risks including respiratory problems and cancer. There are still 3,000 people in the Gulf area in trailers.

In addition, formaldehyde has also been found in trailers FEMA provided to hundreds of people in Iowa after the floods in 2008, according to a past article in the Insurance Journal. Hundreds of people continue to live in FEMA trailers in Iowa.

Whistleblower Rights for Air Marshals?

Well, it may be a start. Hoping for fired whistleblowers who brought valid information to light to be reinstated, Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) questioned the head of the TSA on whistleblower policy yesterday at a hearing of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on management, investigations and oversight, according to a Washington Post article. Pascrell specifically mentioned Robert MacLean, a whistleblower who was fired for revealing that air marshals were to be taken off intercontinental flights because of cost-cutting measures.

Robert MacLean recently appeared on Whistle Where You Work, and told GAP about his story.

In addition, The Center for Public Integrity reveals that whistleblowers within the TSA are treated drastically differently for similar violations. Robert MacLean was fired, while another air marshal, Anthony Rine, was only stripped of his gun and credentials for less than two months. Whistleblowers at TSA need additional protection so that future Robert MacLeans aren’t fired for keeping the flying public safe.

Creating Impediments for Whistleblowers at the UN

Some UN officials have proposed moving reporters to “open offices” where conversations with sources, including whistleblowers, can be more easily heard and seen, according to Inner City Press. Potential whistleblowers would be extremely discouraged to come forward without knowing their privacy and identity could be shielded. If this move were to occur, whistleblowers could be easily identified and retaliated against by the administration, which has a history of not supporting such employees. Whistleblowers must have a forum where they can expose corruption confidentially.

In other UN news, the international institution is still not commenting on its lack of giving back pay to whistleblowers who have won their suits for due process violations (also from Inner City Press’s article). No one from the UN Development Program or UN Ethics Officer Robert Benson (who had recommended paying the back pay to a UNDP whistleblower) has been talking about the situation. The UN is sending the message that whistleblowers who are awarded settlements are still not going to receive them. So is the UN really taking care of the situation at all?

Whistle Where You Work Episode 16 – White House Editing of Global Warming Reports; The FAA’s Assault on Whistleblowers

First on Whistle Where You Work, we chat with Rick Piltz, former senior associate at the federal Climate Change Science Program. During the first term of the Bush administration, Piltz discovered that a White House environmental office was editing federal climate change data in report drafts, in an effort to tone down the human impact on global warming. In 2005, after resigning his position, his story made front page news across the country.

In our second segment, we talk with former Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, who was fired after blowing the whistle in the name of national security and airline safety. Three days after a serious hijacking plot was discovered by American intelligence in 2003, the Transportation Security Administration proceeded to remove Air Marshals from nonstop, long-distance flights – often the ones most vulnerable to terrorist activities. This was done due to budgetary measures. MacLean disclosed this, Congressional outrage stopped the plan in its tracks, and the Air Marshals remained in place. MacLean was fired three years later for revealing such information – which was retroactively labeled “Sensitive Security Information” – a pseudo classification with no real merit.

This episode was filmed in March 2009.

You can view the episode here.

Pushback on Obama's Signing Statements

Signing statements were used by the Bush administration to manipulate which parts of laws the White House wanted to enforce, and others that they wanted to let lay by the wayside (not that this was anything new, but Bush used this tactic quite often). Now, President Obama is using this very practice (which he had frowned upon as a candidate) and is getting criticized for it, according to the Associated Press. This comes as a signing statement on a war spending bill indicated the administration’s desire to not live up to the conditionalities imposed on IMF and World Bank lending that Congress had put into the bill. Four prominent House Democrats sent a letter to the White House expressing their disdain for the practice.

Also, Attorney General Eric Holder is still struggling to make a decision of whether to investigate or prosecute CIA interrogators and contracted employees related to the interrogations, according to an article in the New York Times.

Bad Day for Government Accountability

Three big stories today demonstrate the need for greater government accountability.

First, reports by the Obama administration detailing detention and interrogation policies (regarding detainees) have been delayed by six (!) and two months, respectively, according to this article in the Washington Post. This delay comes as the administration is still seeking to close the Guantanamo Bay prison within the first year of Obama’s term.

Next, after billions of dollars were given out in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a new report by that program’s special IG details how many of the funds spent by banks are not being tracked by the government (from the Los Angeles Times). IG Neil Barofsky reports that The White House and Treasury Department are not asking banks to detail their spending. But Barofsky’s survey of the banks found that many of the banks were using the money to increase their reserves. Only 83 percent of the banks used a portion of the government money for lending. Living up to the promises of transparency and accountability is still something this administration is working towards.

And, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided to not release information about their research on the dangers of distracted driving, like using a cell phone or texting, which it had collected in 2003. This article in the Los Angeles Times said the information was not released because of fears of angering Congress and losing funding. It is not clear how many lives could have been saved if this data had been released in a timely manner.