It's the worst-named statute Congress has ever passed," Meyer said.īut, as Litt points out, if naming a whistleblower causes a chain reaction leading to a demotion or firing, or if the whistleblower is threatened with violence or is physically harmed, the legal situation could drastically change. It requires the inspector general to keep the lid on the whistleblower's name, but it does not stop a member of Congress, a president or anyone else from identifying a whistleblower. The law bans retaliation against an employee for blowing the whistle on perceived wrongdoing. The specific framework that applies to the whistleblower who filed a complaint against Trump is outlined in the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998. There is a patchwork of whistleblower protections under federal law. Whistleblower law "provides no protection" "The whole purpose of that law was to allow people to be able to speak to fraud or crimes they see within their jobs and without having to pay a price for vengeance and retribution," said Panetta, adding that having a president publicly reveal a whistleblower's name would be "unprecedented in history." "You just have to expect people to obey the law and the established practices, which of course in this administration has not always been the case."įormer Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta said a presidential unmasking of the whistleblower would mark a historic event. "But as with so many of our supposed laws, compliance depends largely on a sense of integrity and voluntary compliance," McLaughlin said. "Congress has never provided that protection."īut that is not the same as saying there would be no repercussions for identifying the person whose complaint over Trump's dealings with Ukraine catalyzed the House impeachment investigation.Ī member of Congress who reveals the whistleblower's identity could be removed from committees or face other legislative sanctions a member of the public risks a civil lawsuit from the whistleblower's legal team, which has threatened to hold anyone who reveals the name personally liable if the disclosure results in harm to the whistleblower or the person's family. "There is no overarching protection for the identity of the whistleblower under federal law," said Dan Meyer, a lawyer and the former executive director of the intelligence community whistleblower program. Similarly, if a news outlet, member of Congress or member of the public outed the whistleblower, legal experts said, no criminal law would be violated. Litt and several other legal experts who talked to NPR said Trump uttering or tweeting the name could in theory trigger an article of impeachment for retaliating against a whistleblower, but it would not run afoul of any federal criminal statutes.
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