Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in his 2013 confirmation hearing, FBI Director James Comey called whistleblowers ``a critical element of a functioning democracy.'' That is what I have been saying for years. Whistleblowers expose waste, fraud, and abuse. They help keep Government honest and make sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. By pointing out problems, whistleblowers foster transparency and make it possible for an organization to do better. Agencies should value their contributions. Instead, agencies often ignore whistleblower complaints or worse--retaliate against whistleblowers for bringing wrongdoing to light. Across the Federal Government, whistleblowers are treated like skunks at a picnic, instead of the dedicated public servants they are. Unfortunately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is no exception on that point. However, the FBI is the exception when it comes to legal protections for whistleblowers. Unlike every other federal agency, the FBI is the only agency where employees are not protected for reporting wrongdoing to their direct supervisors or others within their chain-of-command. This makes no sense. Studies show the great majority of whistleblowers first make disclosures to their supervisors. The FBI's own policy encourages reports to supervisors within the chain-of-command. Nevertheless, an FBI employee who makes a disclosure of waste, fraud, or abuse to their supervisor has no protection under law if the supervisor retaliates.…”