Temat: WHISTLEBLOWER NEWS. April 08, 2014 – 11

NEWS. April 08, 2014 – 11

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann: Pelosi Blames Torture Program on Cheney …

Newsweek: NSA-Leaker Snowden Shares 'Truth-Telling' Award with Journalist Who Helped Him …

WAFF (Alabama): Whistleblower – Nonprofit had 'Blatant Conflict of Interest'
Summary: A grant-writing whistleblower that worked for multiple Alabama nonprofits has come forward alleging that public money obtained by the groups should not have been awarded as the organizations were "quasi-governmental" agencies. The controversy, which the Alabama Attorney General is looking into, involves a County Commissioner's dual roles.

CNN: Rand Paul Considering Expanded Whistleblower Laws for Contractors
Summary: While speaking at a libertarian event yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) signaled his interest to "expand the whistleblower statute to government contractors." Providing strong, codified whistleblower protections to intelligence community contractors has been a hot topic since contractor Snowden's disclosures, as he has pointed to the lack of protections as one of the reasons he went to the media with his concerns. GAP has advocated for such protections for years.

NBC11 (Atlanta): Jury Awards Whistleblower $700K in State Ethics Commission Trial
Summary: On Friday, a jury awarded $700,000 to the former head of a Georgia ethics commission after she was fired for attempting to investigate "Gov. Nathan Deal's 2010 campaign reports and financial disclosures."

McClatchy: Is Whistleblower Advocate for Nation's Spies Under Attack?
Summary: Daniel Meyer, who formally served as the Department of Defense's director of whistleblowing, and who currently works as the federal Executive Director for Intelligence Community Whistleblowing & Source Protection, is reportedly being targeted for suspension and having his top-secret access revoked by the Pentagon Inspector General. If this action moves forward, Meyer will no longer be able to carry out his duties.

Washington Post: Lawmakers Call on Commerce IG to Fire Top Managers After Misconduct
Summary: All of the members of a House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee have called on the Inspector General at the Commerce Department to terminate two of his top managers, after the U.S. Office of Special Counsel found that those officials "threatened subordinates with negative performance reviews if they did not sign gag agreements before moving to new jobs."

The Hill: Let the Sun Shine In
Summary: Longtime Senate whistleblower champion Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) penned this op-ed chastising most federal agencies for failing to fully implement the anti-gag provisions instilled in federal law. Effectively, agencies are not informing employees about their codified right to blow the whistle to proper bodies, instead pushing non-disclosure agreements which Grassley describes as seeming "deceptively legitimate."

Washington Post: Lawmakers Dig Into Allegations of Fraud Cover-up by Federal Contractor
Summary: Yesterday, two members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked government contractor KBR to share internal files, "signaling a widening investigation into claims that the company covered up reports of fraud." That investigation is related to a whistleblower's allegation that the company gags employees by forcing them to sign confidentiality agreements. Attorneys for the whistleblower argue that these restrictions violate numerous whistleblower statutes. Former KBR parent company Halliburton is also named in the suit.

Daily Record (U.K.): Baby Deaths – NHS Whistleblowers Warn Staff Shortages at Neonatal Unit are Causing Deadly Infections in Newborn Babies …

News & Observer: UNC-Chapel Hill Should Heed Whistleblower Mary Willingham …

Los Angeles Times: The NSA Metadata Debate – Reform the Program or Kill It? …

See: http://www.whistleblower.org/