GAP (Government Accountability Project)
Conference Call August 1, 2007
6:00 p.m. ET

David Rosen, Tom Devine, Adam Miles, and Richard Kim-Solloway conducted this phone conference.

An overview of what GAP is doing related to the WPEA (Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act was presented.

Mr. Devine pointed out that it has been difficult for federal employees, as they can’t defend themselves when they defend the public, as they do their jobs. He further explained that the passage of the WPEA (Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act) would make the Whistleblower Protection Act “born again” or more able to really do what it was intended to do.

Adam Miles stated that this legislation is closer to becoming law, than it ever had been. The House version was passed months ago. The problem at this time is in the Senate. He said he expected the Senate would vote on this as soon as September. They said they expected procedural roadblocks as those who oppose the bill and the implications of the law it would provide, including the Justice Department. (This is not a surprise to many whistleblowers that have been stymied by the Justice Department’s refusal to do their part in getting cases responsibly resolved.)

It was mentioned that in the Senate, one Senator could stop a bill from progressing by putting a “Hold” on it. Senator Tom Coburn, Republican from Oklahoma, has done just that to this bill. We were told that Senator Coburn’s office was still talking to people about it and wanted to see Senator Coburn’s concerns addressed. What Senator Coburn’s specific concerns are was not addressed in this call.

I believe it was Mr. Devine who suggested people could contact Harry Reid, Majority Leader to express concern, and encourage this to be pushed along and passed.
He also stated that the OSC (Office of Special Counsel) was supposed to be a big brother of sorts to help federal employees to resolve issues and problems, such as those that occur when reporting something unpopular to supervisors, or power at the top, which made them whistleblowers. Instead, he noted that the OSC had abandoned federal whistleblowers. Statistics were given about how few whistleblowers actually prevailed through the OSC and MSPB (Merit Systems Protection Board). It is so few, that it pretty much shows what a failure both of those offices have been to date.

The DOD is issuing a new directive and whistleblower policy that covers uniformed DOD employees, not civilian. It will protect uniformed whistleblowers, who make protective disclosures.

It was then shared that whistleblowers and others need to be relentless in exposing managers who exact the kind of retribution that whistleblowers across our country are experiencing.

Many participants were calling in with questions and sharing some of their challenges. It was mentioned that one challenge is that the government is using the tactic of changing the categorization of information, sometimes retroactively to try to stop whistleblowers from prevailing. In the case of one federal employee, after years of legal proceedings, just as she was going to prevail on her case, the government changed the categorization or designation of her office and the classification of the work they do, to put her into a category that does not have free speech rights, or the right report the criminal actions, or fight and prevail as a whistleblower. Her case fell apart at that point, essentially blocked. Another federal employee, an Air Marshall, ended up a whistleblower, after he saw TSA blow their budget, (waste, fraud, abuse), and then decide to make up for the bad financial management by cutting air marshals long distance flights, so they were not able to do their jobs, and the public would not be protected.

We were told that the government in the past 6 or 7 years has continued to develop numerous (50?) types of hybrid secret or pseudo secret categories, which are not really secret or classified, but are labeled that, sometimes even after the fact, in order to hide information, or prevent the whistleblower from using the information in court, which is needed to prove their case. They also enforce the same penalties on the voicing of this “fake secret” material that they would on legitimate secret or classified material disclosure, effectively shutting down and shutting up the employees. Some of the worst things have been done, recently under Presidential Directives.

The courts have said that the materials have to be marked “classified” BEFORE the alleged theft (by the whistleblower) who then reports the fraud, waste, abuse, or criminal behavior. That it cannot be a little nasty, game, of the government playing games, and changing categories, to pluck the needed information and proof right out of the whistleblowers hands during or near prevailing in a trial.

Someone asked if the new laws would help whistleblowers that are veterans as well. Veterans have had a rough road also, due to the manipulations and game playing by the government regarding their whistleblower claims as well. It is anticipated that Veterans would gain the ability to have a trial and be able to get the materials needed during the trial through discovery, something they are being blocked from doing now, until the trial is over. It is not helpful to not be able to use the freedom of information act to get the necessary information for your legal case, until the case is over, more than likely failed because you could not get the information you needed while your case was at trial. Getting the information sent to you months later is insult upon injury.

Mr. Devine also pointed out that the magic words “solidarity” are very important to whistleblowers. He suggested people check the GAP web site and blog.

Next month, the conference call will be on GAP’s environmental Program. If you’ve been concerned about the gagging of scientists and censuring of scientific reports and articles, you may want to sign up for this one. Go to www.whistleblower.org Gap’s website.