Whistleblowing

New Ruling Shows How Few Options There Are for Intelligence Community Whistleblowers

Last week, a federal judge dismissed a complaint by a CIA whistleblower (and spy), who goes by the pseudonym James Pars. The ruling by Judge Trevor McFadden could affect the willingness of whistleblowers to step forward in the future.

Pars’ case wasn’t so much about his whistleblowing disclosure—basically a complaint about his work place conditions—as it was about the procedures Inspectors General (IGs) must follow when investigating whistleblower retaliation. Specifically, who can hold the watchdogs accountable if they mishandle a whistleblower’s case? Can the whistleblower take the watchdog to court?

Presidential Policy Directive-19 (PPD-19) governs how IGs handle whistleblower cases. After a handful of Wikileaks scandals rocked the Intelligence Community in 2010, including the release of thousands of State Department cables, and in response to mounting pressure from civil society to reform the intelligence community whistleblowing infrastructure, President Barack Obama created PPD-19 to formalize intelligence whistleblowing protections, encouraging intelligence employees to report waste, fraud, and abuse through government channels vs. leaks. The idea behind the directive is that if employees make protected disclosures or complaints within the community (through “the proper channels”), retaliating against them would be unlawful. The IG at the employee’s agency is now charged with investigating such unlawful retaliation.