Washington, D.C. May 6, 2007. In a notably ironic turn of events, FBI agents raided the office of Special Counsel Scott Bloch this morning, seizing computers and documents as part of an ongoing obstruction of justice investigation. Bloch, who is charged with protecting federal whistleblowers, has been under investigation for, among other things, whistleblower retaliation within his own agency.
Despite a warning from his superiors, FBI Special Agent Bassem Youssef answered questions at a January 12 session of the ALA Midwinter Meeting.
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News From The Center OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL RAIDED BY FBI Agency Head and Staff Suspected of Obstructing Justice
Marshall Chriswell, Communications Director of the National Whistleblower Center issued the following statement on this issue:
"It is shocking that the individual who is primarily responsible for investigating federal whistleblower complaints would be the target of an investigation in which he and his staff are suspected of obstructing justice." "The Bush administration must take whistleblower protection seriously, relieve Mr. Bloch of his position, and appoint a Special Counsel who possesses the necessary qualifications and integrity to do the job right." Support Tax Justice for Whistleblowers Washington, D.C. April 24, 2008. In 1996, Congress - in a middle-of-the-night backroom deal - reversed nearly eighty years of tax law. They stripped whistleblowers (along with all other victims of civil rights violations) of their right to be "made whole" after suffering emotional distress or loss of reputation. Attorneys for the National Whistleblower Center, in Murphy v. IRS , fought the constitutionality of this law all the way to the Supreme Court. This week, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, so now -- 12 years later -- we must turn back to Congress and ask them to pass the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2007. Take Action for Victims! Click Here to Email your Representatives! This 1996 law allows the IRS to tax victims who are being compensated for mental, emotional, and/or reputational damages. This is especially troublesome considering that the IRS is not allowed to tax compensation for physical injury. Congress' mindset in this instance was mean-spirited, cruel, and defied years of medical research, which shows unequivocally that mental distress is every bit as harmful as physical injury. Ever since this amendment was passed, according to the IRS, if a whistleblower suffers a heart attack (which some have) as a result of the stress from a wrongful discharge - their court awarded compensation is taxable because the IRS considers it to be an emotional, not a physical injury. President Clinton realized the nefarious nature of the amendment when he signed the 1996 bill (a minimum wage increase), saying: "Such damages are paid to compensate for injury, whether physical or not, and are designed to make victims whole, not to enrich them. These damages should not be considered a source of taxable income." Take Action for Victims! Click Here to Email your Representatives! We are asking for your help to see that Congress passes the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2007 this term! The law, which was introduced in both the House (HR.1540) and Senate (S.1689) last year, would in essence repeal the 1996 amendment that destroyed the ability of whistleblowers to be made "whole." U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Murphy v. IRS Advocates To Continue Pressing for Changes in Civil Rights Tax Law Washington, D.C. April 21, 2008. -- The United States Supreme Court announced its decision not to grant certiorari in the case of Murphy v. IRS. The order, posted on the Court's website this morning, means that the IRS can continue to tax non-pecuniary compensatory damages awarded to victims of whistleblower retaliation and other civil rights violations. These damage awards, which are intended to make the victim "whole" again, include payments for loss of reputation and emotional distress. The case was brought by Marrita Murphy, an environmental whistleblower who won her case before Department of Labor, and was awarded compensatory damages to vindicate her rights under six federal environmental whistleblower statutes. Murphy filed suit when the IRS demanded that she pay taxes on the "make-whole" award as if it were income. After having her case dismissed, Murphy filed an appeal. After full briefing and oral argument, the Appeals court initially held that Murphy's award was not income and the tax on her damages violated the U.S. Constitution. Then, under pressure from the Bush Administration, the judges decided to rehear the case. In this ruling, Murphy II, the D.C. Circuit reversed its own previous decision, declaring that non-physical compensatory damages are taxable as gross income. National Whistleblower Center General Counsel David K Colapinto, who represents Ms. Murphy, released the following statements regarding the Court's decision: "The DC Circuit's decision was contradictory and wrong. It will have a tragic impact on thousands of whistleblowers and victims of discrimination. We are not surprised though, that the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, as there was not a traditional "split in the circuits," as the DC Circuit was the first court to take this issue on. Given the DC Circuit's difficulty in dealing with this issue, I expect that it will be taken up in other courts across the country." "It is unfair and unconstitutional to tax victims of discrimination and retaliation when the awards were simply compensation to make them whole again. The money is to restore a loss for personal injury; it is not income." Unfortunately, as a result of the Court's decision not to hear the Murphy case, whistleblowers and other civil rights victims whose make whole compensatory damages awards are taxed will have to continue to fight the IRS through the courts. The only alternative to continued litigation is for Congress to change the tax code. The CRTRA was introduced in the House by Representative John Lewis (D-GA), who was joined by a bipartisan group of original CRTRA cosponsors, including Representatives Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Sander Levin (D-MI), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Phil English (R-PA). The Senate companion bill was introduced by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The CRTRA has broad bi-partisan support. It is supported by employer and employee advocacy groups alike because both business and employee organizations recognize that taxing non-economic make whole compensatory damages makes settlement more difficult and results in protracted litigation in employment disputes. For more information:
Consumer Product Reform Legislation Going to Conference; Washington, D.C. March 21, 2008. Massive consumer product recalls, on everything from lead-laden children’s toys to toxic toothpaste, have angered Americans and prompted calls for reform. Congress listened, and is now working on legislation to protect our children and families from dangerous manufactured goods. Both the House and the Senate have passed such legislation, and the law, now called H.R. 4040, is on it’s way into a conference committee, where the final language will be nailed down. The most important aspect of this litigation is protection for whistleblowers. Other provisions of the bill, such as increasing the Consumer Product Safety Commission budget to add hundreds of new regulators and inspectors, can only be effective if these employees have the freedom to tell the truth about defective and dangerous products. Right now, H.R. 4040 includes strong protections for every employee responsible for the quality of these products, from the worker on the factory floor, right up through the government employees who inspect them. The law will give these employees the courage to speak up when they see dangerous procedures, because they will know they are protected from retaliation. Not surprisingly, whistleblower protections have become the #1 target of big business lobbyists, such as the National Association of Manufacturers. These powerful groups carry a lot of influence in Washington, and they want nothing more than to see the whistleblower provisions cut. There is only one way to beat them – we need every person who reads this to TAKE ACTION, email or call your Senators and Representatives immediately! Tell them to keep the whistleblower provisions of H.R. 4040 IN! We may only have hours or days until the conference committee convenes, and we must make our voices heard. Links:
Inspector General Report: Highest Ranking FBI Washington, D.C. March 10, 2008. Today the Department of Justice Inspector General’s office has released yet another report confirming that the highest ranking FBI counterterrorism officials violated the Patriot Act when authorizing warrantless searches of over 3000 phone numbers through the use of National Security Letters (“NSL”). These Letters, authorized under the Patriot Act, permit FBI managers to sign search warrants without judicial notification or approval. Buried on pages 129-30 of today’s report, the Inspector General found: “More troubling, 11 blanket NSL’s issued by [FBI] Headquarters officials in 2006 that sought telephone data on 3,860 telephone numbers did not comply with the Patriot Reauthorization Act requirements respecting these provisions, internal FBI policy, or both. We are concerned by the failure of senior Counterterrorism Division officials to comply with statutory requirements and internal policy regarding the issuance of NSL’s and their failure to consult legal counsel.” The officials who signed the National Security Letters include the two highest ranking FBI counterterrorism managers, the current Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism. Stephen M. Kohn, the President of the National Whistleblower Center, issued the following statements: “The FBI continues to make grave errors within its counterterrorism program. These mistakes threaten both individual civil liberties and national security. It is unacceptable that over six years after the 9/11 attacks the FBI still does not understand basic rules governing counterterrorism operations. The FBI and Department of Justice have refused to listen to internal whistleblowers who have documented numerous problems within the counterterrorism program which threaten the safety of every American. Although the Inspector General has again documented problems with the abuses of the NSLs, they have refused to order changes in basic FBI policies which caused the NSL violations.” Mr. Kohn represents Bassem Youssef, the highest ranking Arab American FBI agent employed within the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. According to a report issued by the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility, the FBI illegally retaliated against Mr. Youssef after he reported deficiencies in the counterterrorism program to Congress and the Director of the FBI. On January 12, 2008, Mr. Youssef addressed a convention of the American Library Association and explained how the lack of subject matter expertise within the FBI was the root cause of the FBI’s NSL fiasco. More Information:
Senate Hearing on False Claims Correction Act February 27, 2008. Washington, D.C. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “The False Claims Act Correction Act (S. 2041): Strengthening the Government's Most Effective Tool Against Fraud for the 21st Century” on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. Stephen M. Kohn, President of the National Whistleblower Center, submitted written testimony to the committee which was entered into the record of the hearing. For more detailed information on this issue visit the Whistleblower Blog. View Stephen Kohn’s testimony here. Supreme Court Amicus Brief Filed in support of FOIA Requesters February 27, 2008. Washington, D.C. The National Whistleblower Center has joined an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court to support the rights of FOIA requesters. The amicus brief was filed by the National Security Archive, OpenTheGovernment.org, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Whistleblower Center, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. For more information visit the Whistleblower Blog. Retaliation and Censorship at the FBI January 11, 2008, Washington, DC. Take Action! Click here to contact Attorney General Mukasey and tell him that he must not tolerate further retaliation against whistleblower Bassem Youssef by managers at the FBI. The Department of Justice is charged with overseeing the FBI, and it is time they begin doing just that. As reported on NPR, in the Wall Street Journal, and on the Whistleblower Protection Blog on January 11, 2008, the FBI is threatening to retaliate against Special Agent Bassem Youssef...again. Mr. Youssef, who has exposed misconduct and ineptitude in the War on Terror (more info here>>), is scheduled to give a presentation to the American Library Association on Saturday, January 12. The FBI was fully aware of this speaking engagement, and had already granted permission for Mr. Youssef to speak. Unfortunately, when certain individuals within the FBI hierarchy caught wind of the fact that Mr. Youssef's presenation might in some way critique the Bureau, Mr. Youssef was threatened, and was issued documentation detailing secret censorship requirements that he cannot share with anyone outside of the Bureau. Due to this intimidation from higher-ups at the FBI, Mr. Youssef is unable to give his prepared speech. He will only appear to take questions from audience members. (For more information, see the blog post) This format change will not stop the retaliation that Mr. Youssef faces every day at work. Being threatened for speaking in the public interest is wrong, and Mr. Mukasey should make that clear. Click here to Take Action Now! FBI Whistleblower's Court Award Tops $1.3 Million
January 4, 2008 Washington, D.C. - This morning Chief U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum issued a final order in the case of former FBI Agent Jane Turner, bringing her total court award, including attorney's fees, to nearly $1.4 Million. The judge's ruling dealt yet another blow to the FBI, which had filed an objection to Ms. Turner's request for reimbursement of her attorneys fees. Turner was a highly regarded child crime agent working in the "Indian Counry" of North Dakota for thirteen years. She experienced retaliation from her managers after blowing the whistle on, among other issues, sex discrimination within the FBI. In January 2007, a Minneapolis jury awarded Turner over 500,000 for retaliation and backpay - which by law was capped at $360,000. The FBI initially appealed the ruling, but the Solicitor General of the United States intervened and forced the FBI to drop their appeal. Stephen Kohn, Ms. Turner's attorney and President of the National Whistleblower Center, called the Turner decision "vindication for an irrational attempt by the FBI to destroy one of its highly decorated veteran agents after she exposed highly discriminatory practices by her management." In addition to disclosing discrimination, Ms. Turner also reported widespread theft by FBI agents at the 9/11 crimescene. A subsequent DOJ investigation found that scores of employees had stolen items belonging to the victims, including a crystal Tiffany globe and bloodstained clothing. "FBI management at the highest levels must be held accountable for their crude attempt to cover up official misconduct. What the Bureau did to Jane Turner is unacceptable in modern law enforcement." Added Kohn.
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