NOTABLE

https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/27/fbi-raid-clinton-whistleblower/

>>4934566 Bipartisan Group of Senators Launches Whistleblower Protection Caucus

Feb 25, 2015

WASHINGTON – ‎To raise awareness of the need for adequate protections against retaliation for private sector and government employees who call attention to wrongdoing, a bipartisan group of senators today launched the Whistleblower Protection Caucus. The caucus will foster bipartisan discussion on legislative issues affecting the treatment of whistleblowers and serve as a clearinghouse for current information on whistleblower developments of interest in the Senate. It will also coordinate training and consultation for any Senate office in need of assistance in responding to whistleblower disclosures or retaliation allegations.

The founding members of the Whistleblower protection Caucus are senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa (chairman), Ron Wyden of Oregon (vice-chairman), Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Barbara Boxer of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

“As a long-time whistleblower advocate, I constantly hear from federal whistleblowers who are fearful of retaliation. Some of them have already been targeted for their actions. Much can be done to improve the environment for whistleblowers and actually encourage more people to step forward when they encounter wrongdoing. This group will help inform and equip our Senate colleagues to respond to the needs of these patriotic citizens who play a vital role in protecting against fraud, waste and misconduct,” Grassley said.

“Sunlight is a powerful disinfectant. That’s been true for a long time and there is no better proof than whistleblowers who shine a light where others have not. Sadly, instead of being rewarded for speaking out, whistleblowers often face retaliation and serious career threats for doing what’s right, what’s necessary and for exposing practices that waste tax dollars and even risk public safety. We are all better off when whistleblowers can step forward without fear. That’s what this Caucus is designed to foster and it’s why I’m pleased to join Sen. Grassley and my colleagues in this effort,” Wyden said.

“As the author of the Military Whistleblower Protection Act, I am proud to join Senators Grassley and Wyden as a founding member of the bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Caucus. I look forward to continuing to build on past efforts to protect whistleblowers from harassment and retaliation,” Boxer said.

“The size and scope of the federal government have grown far beyond the ability of Congress to provide oversight on its own. Whistleblowers who courageously expose waste, fraud and abuse are performing an incredibly important service to their fellow citizens. They deserve all the protection from retaliation that Congress can provide,” Johnson said.

"Too often whistleblowers who simply tell the truth end up risking their jobs, or in terrible circumstances, even their own well-being to shine a light on possible safety or security violations. We must do everything we can to ensure whistleblowers are protected and are not subjected to harassment or retaliation for serving as modern-day Paul Reveres. I thank Senators Grassley and Wyden for their leadership convening this caucus and look forward to working with my colleagues to support whistleblowers who come forward when issues arise,” Markey said.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues on initiatives that preserve the liberties of individuals who bring professional and ethical misconduct to light – moral courage that can oftentimes come at great personal cost,” Tillis said.

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Grassley to Trump: State Dept. Should Put American Victims of Terrorism ahead of PLO

Jan 24, 2019

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa today expressed astonishment that State Department officials are working to undermine broadly bipartisan legislation signed by President Trump to promote justice for Americans victimized by terrorism. In a letter today to President Trump, Grassley, a former chairman and senior member of the Judiciary Committee and author of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992 and its 2018 amendments, described how State Department officials are seeking to ignore the collective will of Congress and the President at the expense of American victims of terrorism.

Both chambers of Congress passed Grassley’s Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act without objection last year, which President Trump signed into law. The law makes clear that certain foreign entities benefitting from American tax dollars should be answerable in U.S. courts if they face allegations of supporting acts of terrorism that killed or injured Americans overseas. Despite the broad support for the law, officials from the State Department began lobbying Congress late last year to strip a key provision from the law aimed at helping secure a day in court for American victims seeking justice against the PLO for supporting acts of terrorism.

“You have made protecting the United States and its citizens from terrorism a top priority. I applaud and fully support this effort. Which is why I am surprised that individuals in your administration are deliberately working to undermine core protections that you recently signed into law for U.S. victims of terrorism,” Grassley wrote today in a letter to President Trump. “If your administration’s anti-terrorism strategy is, as you have described, ‘America first,’ why is the State Department putting the interests of the PLO ahead of American victims?”

Grassley offered a compromise to delay the law’s application to certain U.S.-funded programs with the Palestinian Authority, while protecting and encouraging resolution of U.S. victims’ outstanding claims. The State Department, however, rejected the compromise without providing any formal feedback and apparently remains intent on addressing the concerns of others at the expense of U.S. victims.

STATE DEPARTMENT UNDERMINES POTUS?????

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>>4934770 NOTABLE Part 2 of 2 Full text of Grassley’s letter to President Trump follows:

January 24, 2019

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

You have made protecting the United States and its citizens from terrorism a top priority. I applaud and fully support this effort. Which is why I am surprised that individuals in your administration are deliberately working to undermine core protections that you recently signed into law for U.S. victims of terrorism.

I led the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992 (ATA) through Congress and into law. The ATA gives U.S. victims of international terrorism their day in court against those who carry out or support terrorism. It provides some semblance of justice and compensation for Americans whose lives have been forever impacted by terrorism. Equally important, the ATA sends an unambiguous message to deter international terrorism—those who support terrorism will face the full force of the U.S. justice system.

The law operated as intended until recent, flawed court decisions gave terrorists and their supporters a jurisdictional loophole. The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (ATCA), which I introduced, closes the loophole. It makes clear that if certain defendants choose to benefit from U.S. taxpayer dollars, they should be answerable in U.S. courts to allegations of supporting terrorism. Nothing about the law prohibits the U.S. from funding any program it wishes. It simply requires a tradeoff, in the interest of U.S. victims and deterring international terrorism.

This is common sense. And Congress agreed.

The ATCA was considered and passed through regular order as a standalone bill without objection by the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the full House, and the full Senate. On October 3, 2018, you signed the ATCA into law.

Two months later, however, at the very end of the 115th Congress, I learned from news reports that individuals in your administration were meeting with lawmakers to try and “fix” the law to protect certain overseas programs funded by taxpayer dollars. My staff and Chairman Goodlatte’s staff worked in good faith with your administration to resolve any concerns while ensuring that terrorists are not let off the hook.

It now seems, however, that the State Department has no interest in addressing both sides of the issue. I recently proposed a compromise to the State Department that would delay the ATCA’s impact on certain security assistance programs, while ensuring that U.S. victims of terrorism can still have their day in court. Yet, my proposal was rejected and apparently did not even warrant formal feedback from your administration. Instead, the State Department remains intent on striking entirely from the new law a core provision that is of most concern to the Palestinian Authority—who just happen to be defendants in pending claims by U.S. victims of terrorism.

If your administration’s anti-terrorism strategy is, as you have described, “America first,” why is the State Department putting the interests of the PLO ahead of American victims?

I remain willing to work in good faith with your administration on language that will address the stated concerns, while—most importantly—protecting the very victims whose stories and suffering motivated Congress to take action last year.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

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Story to the previous link…NOTABLESA federal court is keeping documents justifying an FBI raid on a reportedly recognized whistleblower secret.

Attorneys and whistleblower advocates say the court should disclose whether prosecutors told the judge that Dennis Cain was a whistleblower.

Cain reportedly gave documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a presidentially appointed watchdog before the raid.

A federal court refused to unseal government documents that permitted the FBI to raid the home of a reportedly recognized whistleblower who, according to his lawyer, delivered documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a presidentially appointed watchdog.

The U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Chief Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner, a Clinton appointee, also sealed her justification for keeping the documents secret in a single-page Dec. 20 order.

On Nov. 15, federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher authorized the raid on Dennis Cain’s Union Bridge, Maryland, home. She sealed the government documents justifying it.

The Daily Caller News Foundation asked Gallagher on Nov. 29 to unseal the documents, noting that Cain’s attorney has said his client, a former employee of an FBI contractor, is a recognized whistleblower. The documents should be released in light of “an urgent public interest” surrounding the case, TheDCNF wrote. (EXCLUSIVE: FBI Raids Home Of Whistleblower On Clinton Foundation, Lawyer Says)

Attorneys and experts who defend government whistleblowers told TheDCNF the court should disclose whether prosecutors told Gallagher that Cain was a protected whistleblower under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act.

Cain enjoyed his whistleblower status as early as last summer when he handed over documents to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, according to Cain’s lawyer, Michael Socarras. Horowitz instructed a top aide to personally hand-deliver the documents to the House and Senate intelligence committees, the attorney said.

The documents reportedly show that federal officials failed to investigate potential criminal activity regarding the Clinton Foundation and Rostam, the Russian company that purchased Uranium One.

Hillary Clinton attends an event at the United Nations. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton attends an event at the United Nations. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

On Nov. 19, however, Cain was confronted with 16 FBI agents who entered and rummaged through his home for six hours, according to Socarras. Cain informed the lead FBI agent that he was a protected whistleblower, but the raid commenced, anyway.

Cain has not been charged with any crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is handling the case with Karen Seifert assigned as the prosecutor assigned to the case, according to Cain’s criminal defense lawyer, Nina Ginsberg.

Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur opposed TheDCNF’s initial request to unseal the documents. In a Dec. 6 letter, Hur told the court doing so “would seriously jeopardize the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”

His letter, which was also sent to TheDCNF, said nothing about the merits of the government’s case or why the raid was warranted. His specific arguments remain under seal.

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