Broken Oversight, Investigations & Justice Dept. Affect Whistleblowers
I recently, received an email from the group administrator of a Whistleblower group I belong to chastising the group members about only sending in posts of direct implication and interest to whistleblowers, not notes on general corruption etc. This post is about the problem of focus and scope of the focus and why the patterns of corruption we see are indeed most germane to every whistleblower, and everyone else who cares about integrity in government and industry.
Advice from effective investigators: keep a broad focus while digging for the details; follow the money, search for patterns and connections. The problem may be bigger than you think.
One has to wonder about the true depth of manipulation of the various arms of our Justice Department. It appears that there has been quite a lot of this lately. I mean by that, finding that the FBI and others have been turned away from certain cases, or types of cases, and put onto selected other more convenient lines of investigation. Another part of the pattern of operations by the current Administration or their minions appears to be effective use of a "red herring" as it gets investigators off chasing other demons, and helps divert public attention from dangerous ground.
I have heard from some DoD whistleblowers that their experiences have included, having initial response of shock and indignation over the merits of the cases taken to law enforcement/ investigative personnel (Justice and others) agencies. That followed by investigations purposefully initiated with great energy and resolve by field personnel accompanied by check backs and good communication, only to have those law enforcement/investigative personnel inexplicably after a few weeks become quite mute. These whistleblowers have further explained that they have discovered the following kinds of things have occurred:
a. Investigators were told to stop by higher ups, sometimes quite a bit higher levels of management. b. Investigators were loaded down with other work and told their priorities, which did not include the whistleblower case of concern. c. Investigators were removed from the case and another investigator, in one case a very senior investigator are put on it instead, one who appeared to be on marching orders to drag it out, obstruct the investigation and make it "go away." d. The whistleblowers have also reported that even though well developed cases were turned over to the appropriate three or four letter acronym agencies for criminal investigations, including lists of people to be interviewed, deposed, or subpoenaed, no contacts by the investigator now in charge to interview or communicate with those witnesses with further evidence whatsoever. e. In one case, the investigator ignored a list of a dozen witnesses, and spoke instead to an employee in an involved department, who was new, and obviously had no history and no knowledge of the case, which many other employees with more seniority and experience did have knowledge of, and were listed in the witness/source list that the investigator chose to ignore. The investigator in this case was quoted, as saying the reason the case was not going anywhere was that "No one will talk to me." In the mean time, the whistleblowers were informed by the witnesses on the list waiting to tell what they knew, that no one had contacted them. They understandably expressed frustration that the case was not being worked.
It seems that many view things a bit myopically. This is somewhat understandable due to the level of stress and pressure most whistleblowers feel, and the lack of energy and time may have to research and reflect while in the slowly heating pot surrounding their own particular situation. Good communication and a broader view are necessary. This is not about just one whistleblower.
The problems we are having are not limited only to one agency or area. The stories that do break are symptomatic of a much bigger problem. A problem created not in small part by the corruption and excesses of those who have been in powerful positions of influence and control, and position to profit from those corruptions and excesses. Justice and law enforcement are not being allowed to function like they are supposed to and that is affecting all of us, particularly "whistleblowers." -VM
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From Brasschecktv.com:
The FBI ties up loose ends After seven years of destroying evidence and intimidating witnesses, the FBI has finally "caught" the individual responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks. Or so they say.
Bruce Ivins may or may not have been involved in the anthrax attacks. Now that he's dead, we'll never know because it will be "case closed."
What we do know for sure is that the anthrax attacks, right on the heels of 9/11: 1) terrorized Congress and 2) gave Bush/Cheney a reason to stop the FBI investigation of the 9/11 attacks.
That's right...The FBI stopped the 9/11 investigation before it even got started. Look it up.
The FBI STOPPED its 9/11 investigation just weeks after 9/11 and "focused" all of its resources on finding the source of the anthrax attacks.
Seven years later, their heroic efforts have finally born some fruit.
A lone gunman. Dead by his own hand. With the noble G-Men hot on his sinister trail.
Cased closed. Move along. There's nothing to see here folks.
See related videos here: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/392.html
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