Government Watchdogs Call on DOJ to Withdraw Whistleblower Report
On October 22, over five dozen inspectors general signed a letter urging the withdraw or modification of the determination by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that the Intelligence Community Inspector General was not required to forward the whistleblower complaint regarding President Trump to Congress.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and National Science Foundation Inspector General Allison Lerner spearheaded the six-page letter. They said the OLC’s whistleblower report “could seriously undermine the critical role whistleblowers play in coming forward to report waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct across the federal government.”
“The OLC opinion creates uncertainty for federal employees and contractors across government about the scope of whistleblower protections, thereby chilling whistleblower disclosures,” said Horowitz and Lerner. “We urge you to reconsider the conclusions of the OLC opinion and withdraw or modify it.”
Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, who heads the OLC responded on Friday, stating that it is the “sole responsibility” of the DOJ to interpret the statutes as Congress has written them.
Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn stated as follows:
“The American people, including every federal employee, have the right to report abuses of authority and violations of law. This is older than the founding of the nation itself. These rights were first enshrined in the Magna Carta and fully recognized by the founding fathers during the height of the American Revolution, and the first federal whistleblower law enacted in 1912 guaranteed every federal employee could speak to any member of Congress without any restrictions. This right is fundamental civics.”
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May 9, 2025
