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Is Whistleblowing Legal?

Whistleblowers play an important role in holding individuals and companies who do business with the federal government accountable. Every year, whistleblowers in industries such as healthcare, agriculture, construction, and disaster relief successfully report fraud and help the federal government recover billions of dollars.

However, individuals who witness or learn of fraud in their workplaces often deal with sensitive and sometimes classified information, especially those working in the Intelligence sector. Because of this, being a whistleblower in the Intelligence Community comes with its own set of questions and procedures.

Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA)

While whistleblowing in most industries is governed by the False Claims Act, in the intelligence community, the relevant legislation is the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act or ICWPA. The ICWPA was first passed in 1998 and has since been updated to offer stronger protections for whistleblowers in the intelligence community.

However, in order to safely and legally blow the whistle in the intelligence community, there are numerous questions that need to be asked and answered sufficiently:

Is the Information You Are Disclosing Protected?

Certain types of information are protected by law, meaning they cannot legally be divulged. Examples of these types of information include:

  • Attorney-client privilege: This is information shared between an attorney and their client. However, there is a crime-fraud exception when a client shares that they are in the process of committing a crime or fraud. Otherwise, information shared between a client and their attorney is considered privileged and inadmissible.
  • Trade secrets: In some cases, the law protects companies from having their trade secrets revealed because of their inherent economic value.
  • National security concerns: Information that is classified or deemed a national security concern may not be disclosable.

This is an inherently grey area of the law, and no two cases are alike. You may think you have information that is good, but it may take the skilled eye of a whistleblower attorney to know whether the information in your possession can legally be disclosed.

How Was Your Information Obtained?

For employees who work at companies or for agencies that deal in sensitive or classified information, there may be issues with how the information in question was obtained. Additional questions you can ask yourself about the information you are considering blowing the whistle with include:

  • Did you have the authorization to view the information?
  • Did you copy entire folders or only files and folders that were relevant to the wrongdoing in question?
  • Were you on a “fishing expedition” (e., trying to find information that compromised an agency, individual, or company), or did you come across the information naturally?

When accessing the computer or information of another, you may run into problems with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if you were intentionally looking for info that could be used against that person, agency, or company. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act has been used against whistleblowers in the past.

If you are unsure about whether the information you have and how you came across it would qualify for whistleblower protections and rewards in your case, talk to a whistleblower attorney who is familiar with these stipulations.

How Much Information Do You Plan to Disclose?

The amount of information you are planning to disclose is another important factor in determining the legality and viability of your whistleblower case. You will have a much better chance of success if you only disclose the information that is pertinent to the fraud or wrongdoing. Disclosing additional information such as trade secrets may ultimately harm your case.

A well-versed whistleblower lawyer can help you determine which information should be disclosed and which information should not.

Who Can Whistleblowers Legally Disclose To?

Under the ICWPA, whistleblowers are directed to disclose information to the Inspector General (IG) of the relevant agency. The IG then has a certain amount of time to determine the credibility of the complaint and whether or not to forward it to the Director of National Security.

If the IG chooses not to do anything with the information within the set timeframe, the whistleblower may submit the information to either or both congressional intelligence committees.

In some cases, the whistleblower may instead report the information directly to Congress. However, there are additional reporting guidelines in such a case. For example, you may need to inform the head of the intelligence agency you are reporting via the IG before you send the complaint to a congressional intelligence committee.

It is generally not advised to disclose information directly to the press, as it can cause you to lose helpful whistleblower protections. This is because once fraud becomes public knowledge, it can no longer form the basis of a qui tam case.

Disclosing the right information in the right way is perhaps the most crucial part of being a whistleblower. To ensure you do so correctly, consulting a whistleblower attorney may be in your best interests.

How Can a Whistleblower Safely Disclose Classified Information?

The ICWPA outlines proper disclosure channels and procedures for whistleblowers. It also highlights all requirements for how to legally and safely disclose sensitive and classified information. For example, whistleblowers are required by law to retain a lawyer to help them disclose sensitive information regarding fraud.

Consult with a whistleblower attorney at our firm to make sure you disclose the classified information in your possession properly.

Is Whistleblowing Illegal?

Blowing the whistle on fraud and wrongdoing is not only legal, but it is a crucial part of ending fraud and holding those in power accountable. That being said, there are proper ways to go about being a whistleblower in the intelligence community.

You will have a much higher chance of exposing fraud and wrongdoing, ending it, being protected from unwanted repercussions, and being rewarded if you and your lawyer follow all relevant whistleblower rules and regulations.

Do Whistleblower Laws Differ from State to State?

While there are different whistleblower laws in different states, those laws typically deal with state and local level fraud. Individuals in the intelligence community, on the other hand, interact with national and federal level information, which is governed by the ICWPA and is uniform across all 50 states.

Ask an Attorney whether Blowing the Whistle Would be Legal in Your Case

Blowing the whistle on fraud and wrongdoing is a great act of courage, especially for members of the intelligence community. You may have important information that could save taxpayers millions or billions of dollars.

However, the key to being a whistleblower in the intelligence community is following the ICWPA and its reporting and disclosure requirements. Doing so will offer you the most protection, and it is your best chance of holding wrongdoers accountable.

Asking the above questions about the sensitive and classified information you have during a consultation with a skilled whistleblower attorney, is another crucial part of making sure your case is successful and that you are protected and rewarded for your part in putting an end to fraud and wrongdoing.

The post Is Whistleblowing Legal? appeared first on Find US Lawyers.



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