President Trump’s barrage of attacks on the whistleblower who expressed concern over Trump’s telephone conversation with the president of the Ukraine has already had severe consequences for other whistleblowers and would-be whistleblowers. Not only do potential whistleblowers see the president treating a whistleblower with disrespect and disregard, but there is also evidence that other government officials are following suit. Reports from the Pentagon’s office of the Inspector General indicate that managers in government agencies are retaliating against whistleblowers without concern that they will be disciplined for doing so. Would-be whistleblowers report feeling more afraid than ever to speak up. People who work for government agencies also report feeling little confidence that they would be protected if they did speak up.
For example, within the defense department, there has been a trend of the department either disagreeing with the results of investigations conducted by the Inspector General or failing to take action in whistleblower retaliation cases. This trend both suppresses would-be whistleblowers and gives management the notion that retaliation against whistleblowers might be overlooked if it were to happen. This problem is especially frustrating for whistleblower protection advocates because the Pentagon’s office of the inspector general can do little about cases where the department disagrees with the results of their investigation or fails to act on their recommendations.
The severity of the retaliation that has occurred in the Trump whistleblower situation has caused whistleblower protection advocates to urge Congress to enforce and strengthen the laws that are intended to protect whistleblowers. Among the suggestions that have been offered for improvement of whistleblower protection laws are a statutorily enforceable right to anonymity and provisions for filing a lawsuit in court (instead of a board or agency) if privacy is violated.
The high profile nature of the Trump whistleblower situation is affecting all kinds of whistleblowers, and it’s not a good one. Where some whistleblower cases, even high profile ones, have illustrated the value of coming forward to expose corruption, fraud, or waste and the protections offered to the people who do so, that is not what Americans are seeing in the Trump whistleblower situation. They are seeing a whistleblower who exposed a serious issue being poorly treated by a powerful public official who has not yet been held accountable for their words and actions toward the whistleblower.
Presently, American confidence in federal whistleblower protection laws is declining thanks to the Trump whistleblower situation and a troubling trend within government agencies of letting retaliation against whistleblowers slide by unpunished. Would-be whistleblowers mustn’t cower in the face of the current events in Washington. As long as there are waste, corruption, and fraud, your voice is needed to expose it. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC affirm whistleblowers in their efforts to expose fraud, waste, and corruption. 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.