De-Muddying the Waters: GAP’s Compromised Role as Lobbyists, Not Lawyers
It has become an entrenched trope, a go-to defense, for the Government Accountability Project and its defenders to claim that GAP “can’t help everybody,” or “they helped me for free,” when its performance as an accountability organization comes under questioning. This line of deflection–this conscious blurring of the line between its functions as lawyers and lobbyists–is […]
This is a post that should not have to be written
But it is because bad faith arguments abound in the whistleblower community. It’s time to take the selectively applied, tribalist, vacuous, context-free admonishment Not to Attack Other Whistleblowers and expose it for the speech-chilling, privilege-protectionist, power-play tactic that it is. What does “attack” mean, in this context? Is it to criticize? Is it to hit […]
Supreme Court Holds Agencies Entitled to Chevron Deference When Determining Own Jurisdiction
Click here for the Supreme Court’s 6-3 opinion (Scalia, J.). The significance of this opinion as it applies the the Merit Systems Protection Board can be found here.
FOIA Lawsuit Update
Today I appeared before Federal Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia to present a motion for summary judgment in my FOIA lawsuit against the FAA. This is what I argued. The FAA appeared, through the Department of Justice, to present its motion for summary judgment. The judge heard us both and […]
Julia Davis’ Response to Tom Devine/Robert MacLean’s Character Attacks
David: Thank you for posing valid questions to all parties. [Link added -Ed.] As you know, I am determined to be fair and clinical in my reporting. I certainly stand by everything I wrote, as it was based on evidence and witness statements. Funny enough, MacLean continues to refer to my articles on the Examiner as […]
Tom Devine’s “Meritless Thuggery”
Last week, former Special Counsel Scott Bloch was lambasted in the blogosphere for harassing bloggers with vague allegations of defamation when they dared to report the truth about him. Now GAP Legal Director Tom Devine is doing something similar–alleging others have credibility/honesty problems–without backing it with specifics, as would be the decent and honest thing […]
Whistleblower Relations Under the Microscope
TSA Whistleblower Robert MacLean was recently interviewed by Peter B. Collins, along with MacLean’s attorney, Tom Devine. The entire interview is worth listening but this exchange was particularly poignant (it may not be up yet–this post will be updated when it is). Peter B. Collins, at 31:49: Now Robert, as I mentioned, I’ve talked with […]
Scott Bloch’s Sentencing Postponed; Judge Irked at “Sanitized” Version of Events
The Washington Post wrote today: The legal odyssey of Scott J. Bloch, the former head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, continued Monday when a federal judge balked at proceeding with sentencing because of what he called an “improperly sanitized version of events.” Bloch, the Bush-era head of the Office of Special Counsel, […]
