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 Whistleblowers 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.
