Top Army Contracts Officer Blows the Whistle

Washington, DC., October 22, 2004. The American Jobs Creation Act (H.R. 4520) was signed into law today, by President Bush. The Civil Rights Tax Relief Act,(CRTRA) Section 703, was preserved in the JOBS bill. CRTRA bars the double taxation of attorneys' fees. The attorneys’ fees provision is prospective only, and applies to fees and costs paid AFTER October 22, 2004 on judgments or settlements occurring after that date.

Washington, DC September 13, 2004: The Department of Defense Inspector General's Office (DOD IG) has responded the May 6, 2004, request of the National Whistleblowers Center to immediately take appropriate action to protect Army Specialist Joseph M. Darby, the soldier who disclosed the photographs documenting prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

August 25, 2004, Washington, DC. Yesterday, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued final rules governing Corporate Whistleblower Procedures under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2003 (SOX). In implementing the final regulations, the DOL rejected a request by the US Chamber of Commerce that would have seriously undermined the protections afforded employees under this Corporate Whistleblower Law.

Washington, D.C. - Oct. 8, 2002. A FBI Agent has accused bureau investigators of stealing a Tiffany crystal globe from the World Trade Center ruins. Special Agent Jane Turner of the FBI's Minneapolis office said she turned the globe over to the Justice Department's inspector general's office after local FBI officials would not act on her complaint.

April 25, 2002, Washington, DC. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Reform Act of 2002 was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bi-partisan bill will give the Department of Justice's inspector general authority to over see the FBI, which is an important step in obtaining accountability from the FBI. The Act also gives FBI whistleblowers the same rights given to other federal employees by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. "The reforms cannot be made soon enough, " stated Kris Kolesnik, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, "this was a necessary step taken by the committee with oversight responsibility and its a longtime coming." Mr. Kolesnik further added, "The Whistleblower provisions in particular promise to be much more effective than under the current process. If you are an FBI agent wanting to disclose wrongdoing in the FBI, your chances of being successful will now be much greater."