Is the Justice Department Inspector General’s Office Violating Whistleblower Law?

Whistleblowers are patriotic citizens who bring to light waste, fraud and abuse that is hidden in the depths of the federal bureaucracy.  That’s why it’s disturbing to learn that the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General might be requiring some whistleblowers to sign non-disclosure agreements that fail to include information about an employee’s right to communicate with Congress.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which became law on Nov. 27, 2012, codified anti-gag provisions that ensure whistleblowers know of their right to talk with Congress without being retaliated against.  The provisions had previously been included in every appropriations bill from 1988 to 2013.

I’m asking the Justice Department Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, to explain the office’s apparent failure to implement these whistleblower protection laws by not informing Justice Department employees of their rights to contact Congress.  I’m also asking about the office’s threats to retaliate if a disclosure is made.

This is just the latest possible violation of the anti-gag provisions I authored in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and previous appropriations bills.  My questions to the Attorney General about how the rest of the Justice Department has complied with the whistleblower law have gone unanswered, leaving significant doubt to just how serious the Obama administration takes whistleblower protections.

My first letter to the Attorney General on May 10, 2013, asked for information regarding the Justice Department’s implementation of the anti-gag provisions.  On Nov. 22, 2013, I wrote a follow-up letter to the Attorney General notifying him of the failure to respond to the May 10 letter, and also bringing to his attention evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was potentially in violation of anti-gag restrictions in its appropriations bill.
         
Attempting to silence whistleblowers seems to be an epidemic in the Executive Branch, but it’s particularly disturbing for the Inspector General’s office to be in the dark on a law so close and important to its mission.