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

Today, Newsweek’s The Daily Beast announced that whistleblowers from across the country are donating a new how-to guide to local public libraries. So far, the whistleblowers have donated a thousand copies, which is only the beginning if their idea takes off. 

Written by the NWC’s very own Stephen M. Kohn, The Whistleblower Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself has received staunch praise from whistleblowers who have already fought through their cases. John Solomon of The Daily Best describes Mr. Kohn as, “a feared litigator in government and corporate circles, who wins three quarters of the cases he brings on behalf of aggrieved whistleblowers.”

Frederic Whitehurst, who blew the whistle on the FBI crime lab in the 1990s, came up with the library project and was interviewed for the Newsweek article. “With whistleblowers, if they lose their case, they lose their credibility, and that means they can’t fix the wrong they want to right. So this really is about citizen empowerment,” he explained. “Where do people go and what can they do to make change and have a major impact when they know of something wrong.” 

Dr. Whitehurst, Solomon reports, “would do it all again, [but] doesn’t want future whistleblowers to make the same mistakes he did.” This sentiment is shared among the 20 whistleblowers who are sending the Handbooks to libraries. They have all used their own money for the donations, hoping to “inspire Americans to blow the whistle on the next Enron-sized corporate fraud, a potentially devastating nuclear- or drug-safety issue, or the ethical transgressions of a government leader–but to do it in a way that saves them some of the heartache [they] endured.”

You can find the full list of 20 whistleblowers who have joined the cause, including Bunny Greenhouse, Sibel Edmonds, Robert Smith, Dr. David Lewis, and Linda Tripp, in the National Whistleblowers Center press release.

If you would like to join the whistleblowers’ initiative by donating a Handbook to a public library, click here.

*Owen Dunn (NWC Fellow) drafted this posting

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The NWC is pleased to announce that whistleblower hero Bunnatine “Bunny” Greenhouse has finally won a six-year legal battle against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 2005, Ms. Greenhouse blew the whistle on the Army Corps for extensive contractor fraud in which they were awarding secret, non-compete contracts worth billions of dollars to Halliburton’s subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR). Six years later, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. has given its final approval on a settlement that requires the Army Corps to pay Ms. Greenhouse $970,000 in lost wages, compensatory damages, and attorneys fees. Her drawn-out journey is recapped by today’s Washington Post, in a column whose title captures the sentiments of the NWC perfectly—this judicial ruling is indeed “a bittersweet win for a federal whistleblower.”

Ms. Greenhouse also appeared on Democracy Now! yesterday with her attorneys Michael D. Kohn and Stephen M. Kohn.

Ms. Greenhouse fought for six years to shine the light on what she has called “the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed in my career.” Her professional life was put on the line from the minute she testified against the corrupt contracting practices of the Army Corps. After testifying to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Ms. Greenhouse faced such retaliatory tactics as having her performance reviews suddenly downgraded, after years of exemplary reviews. She was removed from her position and stripped of her top-secret authority clearance. For six years, Ms. Greenhouse witnessed first-hand the harsh realities of coming forward as a whistleblower. She states, “I was simply doing my job and protecting the public interest and was retaliated against for doing so.” 

Ms. Greenhouse’s attorney Michael D. Kohn issued the following statement about the settlement: “Her courage led to sweeping legal reforms that will forever halt the gross abuse she had the courage to expose. Bunny Greenhouse epitomizes what government service is all about. Bunny Greenhouse is an American hero.” 

With the District Court’s final ruling, Ms. Greenhouse now retires at age 67 with full benefits after serving 29 years as a federal employee. But she laments that fighting as a whistleblower has indeed been a “long and emotionally draining experience.” For Bunny Greenhouse, the fight is over, but the memories still remain. She now hopes that her plight will encourage the Administration and Congress to “finally give federal employees the legal rights that they need to protect the public trust.”

We all agree when Ms. Greenhouse says that, “six years to extract justice is too long.”

The NWC rejoices the victory of the whistleblower today, but also takes this moment to reflect upon the lack of strong whistleblower protections for our public servants and encourages you to TAKE ACTION to fully protect federal employees.
 

*Cho Hwang (a NWC intern) contributed to this posting

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When the Iraq was was about to begin, Bunny Greenhouse alone challenged the legality of awarding no-bid, no-compete, cost plus contract to Haliburton. The Army swiftly retaliated and she lost her career and position as the Army Corps of Engineers top procurement executive. Today Bunny spoke out against S.732, the Senate's version of a Whistleblower Enhancement Act, asking the House to ensure that the "poisons pills packed into S.732" be removed instead of passing the bill in its current state. Bunny would be one of the first beneficiaries if a whistleblower enhancement bill were passed because she can still bring that claim. But Bunny realizes that "the Senate's version of this bill treats whistleblowers as second-class citizens, rolls back some existing protections and leaves national security whistleblowers out in the cold." Congress needs to deliver a meaningful whistleblower bill Bunny Greenhouse and all of the nation's federal workforce deserve - one that doesn't treat whistlebowers as second-class citizens or that rolls-back existing protections.

You can join Bunny Greenhouse in taking action to urge the House of Representatives to correct the flaws in S. 372.

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Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is retiring this year, after 30 years in Congress. Sen. Dorgan served as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC). In an address on the Senate floor last week, he reviewed the Committee's hearings on contracting waste, fraud and corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan. He recalled the testimony of my client Bunny Greenhouse. The remarks caught the attention of David Isenberg who quoted it on the Huffington Post as follows:

A very courageous woman came to testify before our committee. Her name was Bunnatine Greenhouse. She was the highest civilian official at the Army Corps of Engineers, the highest civilian official in the Pentagon in charge of contracting. Here is what she said. She objected to the way the Pentagon was doing these contracts, massive contracts, sole-source, a massive amount of money, and she watched as the normal processes were avoided and ignored. She testified in public:

I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to Kellogg, Brown & Root represents the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career.

This is an extraordinary woman, the highest civilian person in the Army Corps of Engineers. She was in charge of contracting. Two master's degrees, came from a family in Louisiana. All three kids have advanced degrees. Her brother, by the way, was one of the 50 top professional basketball players in the last century, Elvin Hayes. Bunnatine Greenhouse. Remember that name. A very courageous woman, she saw abuses, spoke about it publicly, and for that she lost her career. She gave up her career. She was told: Resign or be fired.

 Bunny is still employed at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although the Corps removed her from her top contracting post shortly after her testimony to the Committee.  Her legal case is still pending.

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Artist Marcia Annenberg was so inspired by the story of Army whistleblower Bunny Greenhouse that she has included a portrait of Greenhouse in a recent painting. "You are my hero," Annenberg says in a letter to Greenhouse. "Your compelling story is woven into my painting, 'Portrait of Two Women.'"  Bunny Greenhouse was the top contracting official for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who objected to the long-term no-bid contracts for Halliburton subsidiary KBR. Now she is calling on the U.S. Senate to fix the poison pills in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) and pass a strong protection for federal employee whistleblowers.

"Portrait of Two Women" will be part of Annenberg's "News/Not News" exhibition at Boricua College, 3755 Broadway (at 156th Street), New York City, from April 28 to June 18, 2010.

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As you may know, Army Corp of Engineers whistleblower Bunny Greenhouse has been actively involved in the fight for stronger whistleblower protection.  She has often said that she is only trying to allow the truth to be spoken.  Studies have proven that the best way to discover the truth is to encourage employees to blow the whistle and protect them from retaliation.

Ms. Greenhouse, concerned about the provisions included in the Senate bill, wrote a letter urging the Senate and the White House to “stop paying lip service to strong whistleblower protection for federal employees.”  She stated that despite all the retaliation she suffered as a result of blowing the whistle on the no-bid contract to Halliburton she would still not be able to tell her story to a jury of her peers.  Ms. Greenhouse explained that most federal employee would also be denied court access under the current Senate bill.

Her letter featured on the front-page of today’s Washington Times has sparked a debate over the true effectiveness of the Senate jury trial provision.

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Voice of America (VOA) has released a YouTube video featuring interviews with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers whistleblower Bunny Greenhouse, her lawyer Michael D. Kohn, and Lindsey Williams, Advocacy Director of the National Whistleblowers Center.  Produced by the VOA's Nico Colombant, the video is six minutes, 36 seconds, long and is called Whistleblowers Unite for Justice.  It presents excerpts of Bunny Greenhouse's testimony to Congress, and exclusive interviews with her, Kohn and Williams.  It describes how she blew the whistle on the no-bid contracts for a Halliburton subsidiary during the Iraq War, and then got demoted.  Michael Kohn explains how her case shows the need for the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA), a bill that would give federal whistleblowers access to jury trials.  Lindsey Williams describes the NWC's petition drive to support the WPEA.

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The Senate is preparing to vote on the stimulus package, and we must seize this historic opportunity to obtain whistleblower protection for all federal employees. We’re in the final stages of the fight and taxpayers who demand oversight and accountability are making their voices heard, but we need your help. Now Halliburton whistleblower, Bunny Greenhouse is calling on all Americans to contact Congress and tell your Senators and Representatives to keep whistleblower protection in the final version of the stimulus package.

Bunny’s urgent letter capped  off a week of increasing public support for whistleblower protection.  Yesterday, the Washington Post published a letter to the editor emphasizing that whistleblower protections are essential for oversight and accountability. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Patriot News endorsed the whistleblower protection amendment of the stimulus package as a necessity to allow civil servants to report fraud.

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