Whistleblowers are often figures of much controversy. Some whistleblowers are viewed as selfless martyrs; individuals who risk their careers and sometimes even lives to expose what they deem are illegalities occurring in an organization. Others are considered to be traitors or defectors, electing to blow the whistle for personal gain. Still more question the potential financial motivation of whistleblowers in qui tam cases. Given the widely varying public attitudes towards whistleblowers, some famous whistleblowers are held in coveted esteem while others have achieved a state of notoriety.
The following is a list of the seven most well-known whistleblowers of all time. These whistleblowers all share two common traits—they risked their jobs to reveal truths and became famous for it. Aside from these shared factors, the outcome of their whistleblowing varies widely, with some ending up in prison and exile while others were immortalized by Hollywood.
- Daniel Ellsberg – responsible for the leak of The Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg is one of the original large scale whistleblowers. Ellsberg leaked over 7,000 that documents to the New York Times that demonstrated how three presidential administrations and the military lied about the Vietnam War. Ellsberg faced a life sentence for violating the Espionage Act, but avoided prison time after the judge declared a mistrial due to the Nixon administration’s actions in bugging his psychiatrist’s office.
- Peter Buxton – Buxton was an epidemiologist working for the U.S. Public Health Service. He uncovered what is now known as the Tuskegee Experiment, wherein the USPHS deliberately withheld treatment to hundreds of African American men infected with syphilis so that they could study its effects. His vital information led to cessation of the program and payouts of over $10 million to victims’ families.
- Jeffrey Wigand – this brave whistleblower worked for tobacco company Brown & Williamson. With his biochemistry Ph.d. Wigand uncovered the tobacco company’s manipulation of nicotine levels and false information concerning its addictive properties. Wigand was the subject of the movie “The Insider.”
- Bradley Manning—army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning downloaded more than 250,000 classified State Department documents, pictures, and videos, and provided them to whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The information provided a disturbing look at some military actions. Manning pled guilty to 10 of 22 counts of violating military orders and will serve many years in prison.
- Edward Snowden – currently the most well known whistleblower, Snowden leaks documents that revealed the National Security Agency is collecting phone records for millions of Americans and internet companies offer the NSA access to their servers. Wanted for numerous felony charges, Snowden fled the country and has currently been granted asylum in Russia.
- Mark Whitacre – Whitacre rose to fame when he became involved in a lysine price fixing scheme taking place at Archer Daniel Midland in the 1990s. Whitacre served as a mole for the FBI, collecting evidence that resulted in the conviction of three ADM executives. Whitacre was later himself convicted for embezzlement and tax fraud, and served a sentence longer than that of the ADM executives. His story was the basis for the movie “The Informant,” in which he was played by Matt Damon.
- Mark Felt – better known as “Deep Throat,” Felt shared insider information concerning the Watergate scandal with reporters and in turn helped to bring down President Nixon. Felt was later convicted for his actions as an FBI agent, which he readily admitted to publically. President Reagan pardoned Felt in 1981. Felt kept his identity as “Deep Throat” secret for years and continued to deny that he was in fact the informant up until 2005.
At Barrett Law PLLC, we understand the role of a whistleblower is not an easy one. For decades, we have helped to ensure brave whistleblowers receive the protections to which they are entitled and monetary compensation for their efforts. For more information on qui tam/whistleblower cases, call us today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free initial consultation.