Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

As you know, the recent financial meltdown and the Madoff scandal have highlighted the importance of protecting whistleblowers.  Employees that have the courage to stand up for the protection of American taxpayers  should be treated with the respect they deserve.  As the new Administration and Congress prepare to revitalize the economy we must ensure that oversight and accountability are central part to any rescue plan.  You can sign our petition calling for stronger whistleblower protection here.

Another way to make change for whistleblowers a priority for the new Administration is to visit the change.org website and vote for "Protect government whistleblowers from reprisals" by midnight tomorrow, December 31st.

**You need to sign-up as a member to the site in order to vote.**

Ideas for Change in America is a project of Change.org, an online community and media network for social issues.  Ideas for Change in America is a non-profit citizen-driven project (not connected with the Obama Administration) that aims to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the Obama Administration and 111th Congress can turn the broad call for "change" across the country into specific policies.

The top 10 rated ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 as the "Top 10 Ideas for America."   Change.org will then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.

The "Top 10 Ideas for America" will be determined through two rounds of voting. In the first round, ideas will compete against other ideas in the same issue category. The first round will end on December 31, 2008, and the top 3 rated ideas from each category will make it into the second round. 

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According to a report in today's Washington Times, a leading FBI whistleblower has direct knowledge that illegal activities occurred in the highly controversial and top secret National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program. The whistleblower, Supervisory Special Agent Bassem Youssef, is the highest ranking Arab American agent employed in the FBI's counterterrorism division. His earlier concerns, that top FBI terrorism managers lacked expertise and experience in terrorism matters, were documented in a highly controversial deposition in which the former head of the FBI's Middle Eastern counterterrorism program testified that he did not know the difference between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. 
 

Below is a January 2008 video of Bassem Youssef  and his attorney Stephen Kohn discussing FBI procedures and civil liberties issues at the American Library Association's National Winter Conference.

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Senator Barack Obama won the presidential election this week running as the candidate for change. The change he promised included bringing transparency and accountability back into the federal government.

During the past year, we have watched President-Elect Obama use his persuasive oratory to change the American political landscape. His oratory included strong public commitments to ensure effective government oversight and whistleblower protection. Workers desperately need a strong national whistleblower protection act. The recent authorization of 700 billion dollars to bail out Wall Street made the need to protect whistleblowers even more urgent.

As President-Elect Obama prepares to announce his appointees, he has the chance to make immediate meaningful change a reality. There are many presidential appointments that have a direct impact on workers who blow the whistle on fraud and corruption. Such positions include key appointees within the Department of Justice who oversee billions of dollars worth of contractor fraud cases.

There are also relatively unknown positions that have tremendous impact on the lives and careers of thousands of whistleblowers. For example, the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board decides federal environmental, consumer safety and Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower cases. Likewise, the Special Counsel has responsibility for protecting federal employees who expose waste fraud and corruption within the federal bureaucracy.

Both the Administrative Review Board and the Office of Special Counsel lost credibility and failed in their missions because of poor appointments by the previous administration. For example, mismanagement by the Bush-appointed Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch was so appalling that the FBI raided his home and office. Even President Bush was forced to fire him two weeks before the election.

To send an email to President-Elect Obama telling him to Take Action on whistleblower protection, CLICK HERE! 

The Office of Special Counsel is supposed to protect the public trust by shielding whistleblowers. President-Elect Obama must ensure that an experienced and competent advocate for whistleblowers is appointed as Special Counsel. He must force the Office of Special Counsel to fulfill its mandate to protect whistleblowers.

President-Elect Obama has a unique opportunity to bring change in these crucial areas that will protect workers with the courage and integrity to tell the truth. That’s the change we believe in. That is the change we hope and expect President-Elect Obama will bring to the federal government.

To view President-Elect Obama's survey responses please click here. 

To send an email to President-Elect Obama telling him to Take Action on whistleblower protection, CLICK HERE! 

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