Whistleblowers are in such a precarious position that they need all of the help they can get. Fortunately, whistleblower protection attorneys are willing to go to bat for their clients day after day, even when other groups that are supposed to be joining them in their efforts to protect whistleblowers fail to do so. The Trump whistleblower situation has already revealed a lack of federal protection for whistleblower anonymity. It is too early to predict what consequences Donald Trump and others who have tweeted or blurted the whistleblower’s name or referenced articles revealing his identity will face.
In addition to the lack of federal protection of their anonymity, whistleblowers face yet another type of insult. The insult comes in the form of a sharp-tongued senator who has tweeted several hostile remarks about the Trump whistleblower as she continues to be a member of a Senate caucus whose name implies that it exists to protect whistleblowers. The attorney for the Trump whistleblower, along with other whistleblower protection attorneys are calling for Senator Marsha Blackburn’s resignation from the caucus, and for a good reason.
Senator Blackburn’s comments fit right in with tweets and statements that have been made by President Trump and his allies in what appears to be a unified effort to intimidate witnesses in the presidential impeachment probe. It is no secret that Blackburn has long been a supporter of Trump, and her comments echo sentiments that have been expressed by Trump and others who support him.
Attorney David Colapinto, a co-founder of the National Whistleblower Center, along with the Trump whistleblower attorney and other whistleblower protection attorneys question how someone with views that are so contrary to whistleblower protection can be a member of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus. The caucus was created in 2015, by a bipartisan group of senators who wanted to discuss legislative issues affecting the treatment of whistleblowers in addition to collecting and distributing information regarding whistleblower issues.
Attacks on Twitter and elsewhere and mentions of the whistleblower’s name increase safety risks to the whistleblower and their family every time they happen. The attacks continue, even though every allegation made by the whistleblower is substantiated by one or more witnesses, and even after whistleblower attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to the White House in November calling for an end to the attacks. Meanwhile, the whistleblower has had to surround himself or herself and their family with additional security.
It is clear that whistleblowers are not receiving adequate protection under federal laws. It is also clear that little stands in the way of attempts to discredit whistleblowers after they come forward and to dissuade would-be whistleblowers before they speak up. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to expose waste, corruption, and fraud. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call us at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.