Will the whistleblower be protected?

Trump told reporters, “We’re trying to find out [who the whistle-blower is]…when you have a whistle-blower that reports things that were incorrect, as you know, and you’ve probably now have figured it out, the statement I made to the president of the Ukraine—a good man, a nice man, new—was perfect, it was perfect, but the whistle-blower reported a totally different statement, like a statement that was not even made…. The call was perfect.”

“Perfect,” is a strange way to describe a phone call. Have you ever made a “perfect” phone call?

My own belief on this is:

Someone at the White House may have warned Trump about asking a foreign government to take action against a Trump political opponent.

They must have told Trump such a request would be illegal.

So Trump, in his ignorance, thought his phone call had danced around the subject sufficiently to get the message across without being specific enough to break the law.

How else can one explain Trump, having told his lackeys to stonewall all requests for information, now allows a transcript to be made public?

Trump stupidly must have assumed he had been “perfect,” and the release would demonstrate his “innocence.”

More troubling is that in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, Trump issued this not-so-veiled threat:

“Of course I’m trying to unmask the whistleblower. I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”

Not only has Trump broken the law with his infamous “Do us a favor . . . ” phone call, but he has compounded the illegality by threatening the whistleblower.

For your reference, here are some excerpts from the Act:

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 will strengthen the rights of and protections for federal whistleblowers so that they can more effectively help root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

Whistleblowers play a critical role in keeping our government honest and efficient.

Moreover, in a post–9/11 world, we must do our utmost to ensure that those with knowledge of problems at our nation’s airports, borders, law enforcement agencies, and nuclear facilities are able to reveal those problems without fear of retaliation or harassment.

That seems clear enough, but . . .

Unfortunately, federal whistleblowers have seen their protections diminish in recent years, largely as a result of a series of decisions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has exclusive jurisdiction over many cases brought under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA).

Specifically, the Federal Circuit has wrongly accorded a narrow definition to the type of disclosure that qualifies for whistleblower protection.

Additionally, the lack of remedies under current law for most whistleblowers in the intelligence community and for whistleblowers who face retaliation in the form of withdrawal of the employee’s security clearance leaves unprotected those who are in a position to disclose wrongdoing that directly affects our national security.

The withdrawal of security clearances specifically mentioned in WPA is a tactic Trump already has used to punish enemies, real or assumed:

More than 175 former U.S. State Department and Pentagon officials added their names to a statement signed by former national security officials criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan.

While they may not agree with all Brennan’s public attacks on Trump, the statement read, they believe “the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied” before former officials are allowed to voice their views.”

Further in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act:

Often, the whistleblower’s reward for dedication to the highest moral principles is harassment and abuse.

Whistleblowers frequently encounter severe damage to their careers and substantial economic loss.

Protecting employees who disclose government illegality, waste, and corruption is a major step toward a more effective civil service. In the vast federal bureaucracy it is not difficult to conceal wrongdoing provided that no one summons the courage to disclose the truth.

Whenever misdeeds take place in a federal agency, there are employees who know that it has occurred, and who are outraged by it. What is needed is a means to assure them that they will not suffer if they help uncover and correct administrative abuses.

What is needed is a means to protect the . . . conscientious civil servants deserve statutory protection rather than bureaucratic harassment and intimidation.

Though this was written in 2002, it could not have more accurately described a government run by Donald Trump.

Because of the dangers posed by a government run amok, Congress tried to prevent future “Trumps” from doing what dictatorial bureaucrats tend to do: Punish the innocent for disclosing the guilty.

Unfortunately, in the years since Congress passed the WPA, the Merit Systems Protection Board (the MSPB) and the Federal Circuit narrowed the statute’s protection of ‘‘any disclosure’’ of certain types of wrongdoing, with the effect of denying coverage to many individuals Congress intended to protect.

Both the House and Senate committee reports accompanying the 1994 amendments criticized decisions of the MSPB and the Federal Circuit limiting the types of disclosures covered by the WPA.

Specifically, this Committee explained that the 1994 amendments were intended to reaffirm the Committee’s long-held view that the WPA’s plain language covers any disclosure.

It is critical that employees know that the protection for disclosing wrongdoing is extremely broad and will not be narrowed retroactively by future MSPB or court opinions.

Without that assurance, whistleblowers will hesitate to come forward.

Despite the clear wording and intent of the law, Trump and his followers see nothing wrong with him saying, “Of course I’m trying to unmask the whistleblower.”

Disclosing the name of the whistleblower would be a serious violation of federal law.

The acting director of national intelligence says a whistleblower “did the right thing” by coming forward to report concerns over the White House’s handling of a call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s leader.

Joseph Maguire told the House intelligence committee at a hearing on Thursday the whistleblower followed the law “every step of the way.”

Combine a lawless President, who cares nothing for America, but only for himself, plus a gaggle of sycophantic enablers, who approve of his every misdeed, and add to that a timid, cautious Democratic party fearful of possible backlash , and you have a nation teetering on the brink of tyranny.

Already, we have a President who has been involved in an astounding amount of immorality and outright criminality:

Inaugural committee disclosure violations, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, violation of the Emoluments Clause, sexual misconduct, defamation, conflicts of interest, financial fraud, bank fraud, perjury, suborning perjury, witness tampering, acting as an agent of a foreign government, using a charitable foundation for personal expenses, influence peddling, nepotism, etc.

Today’s America is but a short hop from fascism, and unless Congress retakes morality and Constitutional powers, we will suffer the same tragedy as did Nazi Germany.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
Twitter: @rodgermitchell
Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

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The most important problems in economics involve:

1. Monetary Sovereignty describes money creation and destruction.
2. Gap Psychology describes the common desire to distance oneself from those “below” in any socio-economic ranking, and to come nearer those “above.” The socio-economic distance is referred to as “The Gap.”

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of Monetary Sovereignty and The Ten Steps To Prosperity can grow the economy and narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

1. Eliminate FICA

2. Federally funded Medicare — parts a, b & d, plus long-term care — for everyone

3. Provide a monthly economic bonus to every man, woman and child in America (similar to social security for all)

4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone

5. Salary for attending school

6. Eliminate federal taxes on business

7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 

8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.

9. Federal ownership of all banks

10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY