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On June 11, 2018, CRLG Managing Attorney Andrew Bakaj and colleagues Mark Zaid and Dan Meyer will be teaching a DC Bar Continuing Legal Education Course on Handling Whistleblower Claims. To register, click on the link below. For those unable to attend in person, there will also be an on-demand webinar of this course. https://bit.ly/2sniAaz

Description: Some might say whistleblowers are the lifeblood of government transparency. But how, as attorneys, do you best represent those who wish to expose alleged wrongdoing of their employer? Where do you take them? What if the information is classified and against the law to reveal, even to you as the attorney? What is the difference between leaking and whistleblowing? Can government agencies bar whistleblowing through non-disclosures agreement or policies? What significant legal differences exist between protecting a whistleblower’s security clearance and other forms of reprisal? Learn how best to handle whistleblower cases from distinguished experts with years of practical experience from within and outside the federal government. This class will explore the applicable laws and provide practical anecdotes from various whistleblower scenarios and cases.

Faculty: Andrew Bakaj, Compass Rose Legal Group, PLLC; Dan Meyer, former Executive Director for Intelligence Community Whistleblowing & Source Protection, Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community; Mark S. Zaid (Course Chair), Law Office of Mark S. Zaid, P.C.

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Compass Rose Legal Group’s Managing Attorney Andrew Bakaj was quoted in two stories about the Intelligence Community’s Whistleblower Protection Program and the events surrounding its Director. He was also quoted extensively about the absence of the Acting Intelligence Community Inspector General from Washington, DC, who was studying full time at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Concerning the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Program, Mr. Bakaj was quoted saying:

Bakaj said he worries that the acting decision makers at the intelligence community IG’s office misinterpret Meyer’s advocacy as a defense of illegal leaking. “Whistleblower is a polarizing term,” Bakaj told Government Executive. “When they hear the word, a lot of folks think of Edward Snowden or [Chelsea] Manning. But the program’s two-fold purpose is to encourage folks to come forward with information on a problem that the agencies needs to know about, and is also a mechanism to prevent people from making classified information public.”

Bakaj, now a managing attorney at Compass Rose Legal Group, said it was difficult for intelligence agencies to relate to a ground-breaking program, which made Meyer a “lightning rod” after the names of senior officials and political appointees began appearing in news articles about possible misconduct.

It doesn’t help, he added, that acting IG Stone is a part-time leader who is studying at Harvard University. “The U.S. government has a lot of folks going to universities to obtain degrees, and I don’t begrudge them that,” Bakaj said. But if someone has risen to the level of being acting chief of an agency, he should already have the qualifications. “It’s confounding—who’s in charge of the office while he’s at Harvard?”

The full article can be accessed by clicking here.

Concerning the Acting Inspector General, Mr. Bakaj was quoted saying:

“It is my understanding that he spent most of his time at Harvard instead of at Washington. You have a problem right there,” Bakaj told the Sun. “Instead of being physically present and leading the ship. He went away, physically, with no access to classified information and no access to his staff.”

The full article can be accessed by clicking here.

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Compass Rose Legal Group’s Managing Attorney Andrew Bakaj is quoted in a Foreign Policy article discussing whistleblowing and the Intelligence Community Office of Inspector General.

Specifically, Andrew responded to reporting that the office is in “disarray .” Andrew is quoted as follows:

For attorneys who represent clients with pending cases in front of the inspector general, the office’s disarray is particularly disturbing.

Andrew Bakaj, who worked for several years at the CIA’s inspector general office and helped stand up the whistleblower programs at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community, says the destruction of the office is a matter of grave national security.

“As an attorney regularly representing intelligence community officials, the [Intelligence Community Inspector General] has been a key office for both enabling my clients to lawfully disclose allegations of violations of law, rule, or regulation, as well as fostering protections by accepting allegations of whistleblower reprisal,” Bakaj, now a managing attorney at Compass Rose Legal Group, wrote in an email to FP.

Bakaj argues that the disclosures he has filed on behalf of clients have “highlighted critical and systemic failures” in the intelligence community. “A strong [intelligence community inspector general] means those issues can get to the right people or Congressional Committees for action,” he wrote. “I have seen it work.”

The full article can be accessed by clicking here.

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A follow-on article to Managing Attorney Andrew Bakaj’s and colleague Mark Zaid’s Op-Ed in Just Security regarding activity within the NSA.

Andrew and Mark are handling multiple clients with PPD-19 appeals, and they have already forged precedent-setting decisions.

To read this article, please click here: Whistleblower Reinstated in Job in Test Case for NSA and Intelligence Community.

To read the original Op-Ed, click here: New Case Proves Intelligence Community Whistleblowers Have Protections.

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Today the firm’s Managing Attorney, Andrew Bakaj, and his colleague, Mark Zaid, had an op-ed published in Just Security about recent events at the National Security Agency (NSA) involving PPD-19, Protecting Whistleblowers with Access to Classified Information. The investigative program is one that Andrew developed at CIA, which is based on a program he refined at DoD.

In December, Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the NSA, placed the agency’s Inspector General (IG), Dr. George Ellard, on administrative leave and recommended he be removed from his position after an investigation into whether he retaliated against a whistleblower was conducted by a panel of IGs at the CIA, Treasury and Justice Department. This article explores the ramifications of this action.

To read this article, please click here: New Case Proves Intelligence Community Whistleblowers Have Protections.

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On January 26, 2017, ABC News Reported that President Trump issued a memorandum to certain Federal Employees restricting their communication with Congress. If true, this poses a problem for all Federal Employees because communications to Congress and the relevant Congressional Committees are protected communications by law. (see The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, and Title 10 as it applies to the Military (“No person may restrict a member of the armed forces in communicating with a Member of Congress or an Inspector General.”)).

Please note: certain Federal Employees, notably members of the Intelligence Community, must follow internal policies and procedures to properly communicate with Congress.

Under normal circumstances, an allegation of retaliation because an individual went to Congress would be the subject of a whistleblower reprisal investigation. The restrictions imposed by the President, which may run contrary to law, poses an interesting question:

Can the President of the United States be the subject of a Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation?

The short answer is: perhaps. If so, given the circumstances and the current environment here in Washington, I would posit that a Congressional Committee would be the only body that could effectively and independently investigate such an allegation.

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By Andrew P. Bakaj, Esq.

At THIS moment, the legal issues involving whistleblowing in the Trump era is no different than whistleblowing under Presidents Obama and Bush. The difference is that many federal employees and contractors are now vocal about it because they are concerned that President Trump or his appointees/designees may direct an action perceived to be illegal. As a result, many of those individuals will come to rely on federal whistleblower laws to protect them as they engage in protected activity. Accordingly, it is in the federal employee’s and contractor’s best interest to become familiar with one CRITICAL component of whistleblower protection: the definition of a PROTECTED disclosure. In order to be protected from retaliation/reprisal, the disclosure must be viewed – BY LAW – as “protected.”

What is a protected disclosure?

A protected disclosure, ie. LAWFUL whistleblowing, is a disclosure of a violation of law, rule, or regulation; fraud, waste, or abuse; mismanagement, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The disclosure need not be 100% accurate, because the legal theory is that the government doesn’t want people running around conducting their own “investigations” into the various issues they intend on disclosing. The disclosure merely has to be based on a reasonable belief that a violation was taking place. That may appear to be a low bar, but investigators will hone in on that should they intend on closing-out the case without investigation. Those issues are very fact specific and can get tricky. Let’s leave that one there for now.

Next, the disclosure must be made through proper channels. Some employees are able to make a disclosure publicly to the media. Others are most certainly not. For example:  members of the Intelligence Community are prohibited from making any disclosures to the media. In fact, such activity by members of the Intelligence Community is known by the phrase “unauthorized disclosure” or, in laymen’s terms, “leak.” Not only are members of the Intelligence Community prohibited from engaging in unauthorized disclosures, doing so opens up the strong possibility of a criminal investigation and prosecution. Generally, disclosures are protected if you make it through your chain-of-command or to an Office of Inspector General.

Terminology & phraseology – let’s turn to the easy one first: a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The disclosure here has to be specific and there must be an actual threat to the health and safety of the general public. This means what it says.

Now, let’s turn to the key phrases “Fraud, Waste, & Abuse,” “Mismanagement,” and “Law, Rule & Regulation.” These words matter, and its misinterpretation can lead to the door being left wide open for retaliatory action without any safeguards to protect against it. In many cases, this is where a whistleblower reprisal case is won or lost.

Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement versus Law, Rule, or Regulation

Many individuals try and articulate that a “fraud” is taking place within their agencies and, as a result, expect that they cannot be retaliated from disclosing it. Not so fast. How do you define waste? What is a fraud? What is abuse of authority? What is mismanagement? Does the person have to be in a “management” billet to “mismanage?”  This, right here, is a hot mess. The best way to define these is to link the fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement to a violation of law, rule, or regulation. Think of it this way: if something is wasteful, it should be illegal.Therefore, be sure you’re able to tie your disclosure to a violation of LAW, RULE, OR REGULATION. If you’re not sure, seek counsel. Down the road, should you be retaliated against and have to articulate the basis for your disclosure, you don’t want to be left relying on the position that what you witnessed “felt” like a fraud or a waste of government money and therefore your supervisor “mismanaged” the program. That’s conclusory. What LAWS, RULES, or REGULATIONS did they VIOLATE?

Policy Disputes are NOT Protected

Potential whistleblowers need to understand that, by law, a disclosure of a policy dispute is not protected. So, what exactly is a policy dispute? A policy dispute is when you disagree with leadership on what approach or position to take on a particular issue. Policy disputes occur all the time in Washington. That’s just a fact. And remember: the President, his cabinet, and his appointees have broad authorities and are, in fact, empowered to create and implement policies and strategies. If, however, they direct an illegal action, that’s different. This is a critical point because if you find yourself disagreeing with the President or his cabinet on the “direction” they’re taking your department or office, your disclosure may not be protected – unless the disagreement is rooted in law, rule, or regulation. Given the current climate, expect to defend against retaliatory action with an allegation of insubordination being at the top of the list. However, if you’re a member of the Intelligence Community expect an action involving your security clearance. As of 2012 and 2014, retaliating via a security clearance action is a violation of law and regulation.

What does it mean to be Protected from Reprisal?

Let’s be clear: whistleblower “protection” doesn’t protect you from your superiors taking retaliatory actions against you. What your protected disclosure does is afford you the opportunity to CHALLENGE the action by asserting a whistleblower status, prompting an investigation to determine whether the action taken against you was in reprisal. This is absolutely important to understand. If you go into this thinking nothing will happen to you because of your whistleblower status, you will be in for a rude awakening. You need to go into this understanding how to properly disclose wrongdoing. Should, heaven forbid, leadership reprise against you, your legal status as a bona fide whistleblower will allow you to PUSH BACK by filing complaints in an effort to correct the record and protect yourself and your career.

What does all this mean?

In the coming months, and perhaps years, many federal employees and contractors will feel compelled to stand up for what they believe is right. Doing so is fraught with risk and, frankly, given the recent announcement that the President has issued a hiring freeze, an error on an employee’s part may lead to termination with no hope on finding alternative government work. So the stakes are high.

That being said, when it comes to making difficult choices about when and how to stand up and draw lines in the sand, you need to consult with yourself, your family, and with an attorney – a personal attorney. Remember, while it may be prudent to speak with government counsel, they do not represent you. In fact, government counsel will be the ones providing your leadership with the legal sufficiency to justify the retaliatory action against you.

In short, up-armor yourself and act accordingly.

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