201-565: The White House travel office controversy , sometimes referred to as Travelgate , was the first major ethics controversy of the Clinton administration . It began in May 1993, when seven employees of the White House Travel Office were fired. This action was unusual because executive-branch employees typically remain in their posts for many years (even though they can be terminated by, and serve at
402-712: A Peruvian couple, both undocumented immigrants , to work in her home. Baird withdrew her nomination and Clinton next chose Kimba Wood , who was quickly forced to withdraw due to somewhat similar problems. Janet Reno , a Florida state's attorney , was nominated for Attorney General a few weeks later, and she won confirmation in March 1993. After experiencing difficulty with these nominations, as well as that of Lani Guinier , Clinton brought in David Gergen , who had previously served in Republican administrations, to serve as Counselor to
603-458: A cover-up was taking place and vowed to pursue new material. These developments, following Hillary Clinton's prior disputed statements about her cattle futures dealings and Whitewater , led to a famous exchange in which high-profile New York Times columnist William Safire , who had endorsed Bill Clinton in the previous election, wrote that many Americans were coming to the "sad realization that our First Lady—a woman of undoubted talents who
804-619: A "Whistleblower Protection Directive" containing broad free speech protections for whistleblowers in both the public and the private sectors, including for journalists, in all member states of the European Union . The Directive prohibits direct or indirect retaliation against employees, current and former, in the public sector and the private sector. The Directive's protections apply to employees, to volunteers, and to those who assist them, including to civil society organizations and to journalists who report on their evidence. In October 2021,
1005-542: A $ 16 billion stimulus package primarily to aid inner-city programs desired by liberals, but it was defeated by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Clinton inherited major budget deficits left over from the Reagan and Bush administrations; fiscal year 1992 had seen a $ 290 billion deficit. In order to cut the deficit, Bentsen, Panetta, and Rubin urged Clinton to pursue both tax increases and spending cuts. They argued that by taming
1206-405: A November 14, 1995 deadline to approve the bill. After the deadline, the government would be forced to temporarily shut down due to a lack of funding. In reaction, Clinton presented his own plan that did not include spending cuts to Medicare but would balance the budget by 2005. As Clinton refused to sign the Republican bill, major portions of the government suspended operations until Congress enacted
1407-624: A bigger economic issue than the deficits, Clinton decided to pursue deficit reduction as the major economic priority of his first year in office. In doing so, he reluctantly abandoned a middle-class tax cut that he had championed during the campaign. Clinton presented his budget plan to Congress in February 1993, proposing a mix of tax increases and spending reductions that would cut the deficit in half by 1997. Republican leaders strongly opposed any tax increase, and they pressured congressional Republicans to unite in opposition to Clinton's budget, and not
1608-584: A bill to provide health care coverage for children of the working poor, to be financed via a 75 cents a pack cigarette tax increase. Working with Clinton and Republican Senator Orrin Hatch , Kennedy won passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. The successful passage of welfare reform in the 1990s was President Clinton's strategy of "triangulation"-purposely positioning himself midway between liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, thereby building
1809-511: A budget agreement in 1997 that provided for relatively small changes to the budget. In 1998, the federal government experienced the first budget surplus since the 1960s. Reflecting the importance of the budget surplus, the New York Times described the end of budget deficits as "the fiscal equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall." Though Republican leaders called for large tax cuts in light of
2010-425: A claim or narrative. A case involving the scientific community engaging in research fraudulence is that of Dr. Cyril Burt . Dr Cyril Burt was a British psychologist who proposed that he had discovered a heritable factor for intelligence based on studying twins. Dr. Oliver Gillie , a former colleague of Dr. Burt, inquired about Dr. Burt’s work, doubting the authenticity of the data and the certain twins that Dr. Burt
2211-399: A climate whereby employees are more likely to report or seek guidance regarding potential or actual wrongdoing without fear of retaliation. The coming anti-bribery management systems standard, ISO 37001 , includes anonymous reporting as one of the criteria for the new standard. External whistleblowers report misconduct to outside people or entities. In these cases, depending on the nature of
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#17328559539392412-539: A commitment, of the law or regulations, or a serious threat or harm to general interest, which he or she has become personally aware of. " It excludes certain professional secrets such as national defense secrecy, medical secrecy or the secrecy of relations between a lawyer and his client. In 2022, two laws are passed to transpose the European Directive 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. One of them strengthens
2613-581: A conference committee settled the differences between the House and Senate. The House passed the final bill in a 218–216 vote. After intensely lobbying Bob Kerrey and other Democratic senators, Clinton won passage of his bill in the Senate in 50–50 tie vote; Vice President Gore broke the tie . Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA–93) into law on August 10, 1993. The bill provided for $ 255 billion in spending cuts over
2814-484: A conversation with Foster about the travel office affair shortly before Foster's suicide, but on June 25, 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 against Starr in Swidler & Berlin v. United States , stating that attorney–client privilege extends beyond the grave. In September 1998 Independent Counsel Starr released the famous Starr Report , concerning offenses that may have been committed by President Clinton as part of
3015-417: A cycle of poverty, and he favored shifting funding from AFDC to job training and child care programs. Republicans shared Clinton's goal of making major changes to the welfare system, but they were unwilling to fund the job training programs and wanted to prevent legal immigrants from receiving welfare benefits. Clinton twice vetoed Republican plans that terminated AFDC, but he ultimately decided that he favored
3216-401: A federal three-strikes law that enhanced criminal penalties for repeat offenders. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban barred the sale of several kinds of semi-automatic rifles , but the provision did not apply to the 1.5 million semi-automatic rifles already in the possession of private owners, nor did it affect other types of guns. Liberal Democrats gave environmentalism a higher priority than
3417-613: A few days before, he wrote "No one in The White House, to my knowledge, violated any law or standard of conduct, including any action in the Travel Office. There was no intent to benefit any individual or specific group. [...] The press is covering up the illegal benefits they received from the travel staff". (In the last part, Foster may have been referring to lax customs treatment by the Travel Office of goods brought back from foreign trips by reporters.) In July 1993, Congress requested
3618-414: A firmer academic basis in virtue ethics . It is likely that many people do not even consider whistleblowing not only because of fear of retaliation but also because of fear of losing relationships both at and outside work. Persecution of whistleblowers has become a serious issue in many parts of the world: Employees in academia, business or government might become aware of serious risks to health and
3819-621: A five-year period, with much of those cuts affecting Medicare and the military. It also provided for $ 241 billion in new revenue over five years; most of that revenue came from an increased gasoline tax or from higher taxes on those who made over $ 100,000 per year. After Republicans took control of Congress in the 1994 elections, incoming Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich promised a conservative "revolution" that would implement tax cuts, welfare reform, and major domestic spending cuts. Gingrich failed to deliver major conservative reforms in
4020-451: A good-faith report of a whistleblowing action or cooperating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit arising under said action. Federal whistleblower legislation includes a statute protecting all government employees. In the federal civil service, the government is prohibited from taking, or threatening to take, any personnel action against an employee because the employee disclosed information that they reasonably believed showed
4221-452: A group of congressional Republicans developed a plan consisting of government subsidies and the implementation of a mandate that would require individuals to purchase health insurance. The administration formed a task force, led by First Lady Hillary Clinton , that was charged with creating a plan that would provide for universal health care . Assigning a major policy role to the First Lady
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#17328559539394422-554: A jury beyond a reasonable doubt that any of Mrs. Clinton's statements and testimony regarding her involvement in the travel office firings were knowingly false," and thus prosecution was declined. White House press secretary Joe Lockhart was critical of Ray's statement: "By inappropriately characterizing the results of a legally sealed report through innuendo, the Office of Independent Counsel has further politicized an investigation that has dragged on far too long." Ray's full 243-page report
4623-538: A longtime Senator from Texas and the 1988 Democratic vice presidential nominee, to serve as his first Secretary of the Treasury. At the start of Clinton's first term, Bentsen, OMB Director Leon Panetta , Secretary of Labor Robert Reich , and policy coordinator Robert Rubin were Clinton's top economic advisers. Clinton's first term foreign policy team was led by National Security Advisor Anthony Lake and Secretary of State Warren Christopher , both of whom had served in
4824-500: A majority coalition and enabling him to take full credit for the results. The strategy was called " triangulation ". Shortly after the end of the government shutdown, Clinton announced his plan to pursue major changes to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which provided financial assistance to low-income families with children. Clinton believed that the program inadvertently trapped many poor families and individuals in
5025-457: A manager or to external factors, such as their lawyer or the police. Whistleblowing in the private sector is typically not high-profile or openly discussed in major news outlets, though occasionally, third parties expose human rights violations and exploitation of workers. Many governments attempt to protect such whistleblowers. In the United States, for example, there are organizations such as
5226-661: A month of taking office, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 . The act, which had been vetoed twice by Bush, guaranteed workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave for certain medical and family reasons, including pregnancy. In August 1996, Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act . The bipartisan bill granted people the right to keep their insurance plan if they changed jobs, and also contained several other health care reforms. In October 1996, Senator Ted Kennedy introduced
5427-612: A motivating forces. A 2012 study shows that individuals are more likely to blow the whistle when others know about the wrongdoing, because they fear the consequences of keeping silent. In cases where one person is responsible for wrongdoing, the whistleblower may file a formal report, rather than directly confronting the wrongdoer, because confrontation would be more emotionally and psychologically stressful. Furthermore, individuals may be motivated to report unethical behavior when they believe their organizations will support them. Professionals in management roles may feel responsibility to blow
5628-418: A policy of triangulation between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. By co-opting some of Republican ideas, Morris argued that Clinton could boost his own popularity while blocking the possibility of the drastic reforms advocated by some conservatives. The Republican Congress presented Clinton with a budget plan that cut Medicare spending and instituted major tax cuts for the wealthy, giving him
5829-507: A private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations. Over 83% of whistleblowers report internally to a supervisor, human resources , compliance , or a neutral third party within the company, hoping that the company will address and correct the issues. A whistleblower can also bring allegations to light by communicating with external entities, such as
6030-459: A professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University , argued that: By the end of the Clinton presidency, the numbers were uniformly impressive. Besides the record-high surpluses and the record-low poverty rates, the economy could boast the longest economic expansion in history; the lowest unemployment since the early 1970s; and the lowest poverty rates for single mothers, black Americans, and
6231-459: A reasonable doubt" that she knew her statements were false or understood that they may have prompted the firings. Immediate reactions to the report differed. David E. Kendall , Hillary Clinton's lawyer, said that Ray's words were "highly unfair and misleading" and that Ray's conclusions were inconsistent, that evidence regarding her innocence had been buried in the document, and that the report confirmed that her fears about financial improprieties in
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6432-458: A result of litigation regarding harms such as unfair dismissal, which they often face with little or no support from unions. Whistleblowers who continue to pursue their concerns may also face long battles with official bodies such as regulators and government departments. Such bodies may reproduce the "institutional silence" adopted by employers, adding to whistleblowers' stress and difficulties. Thus, whistleblowers often suffer great injustice that
6633-581: A result of these startups saw massive stock gains in the Nasdaq Composite and the S&;P 500 , although these gains would eventually be lost in their entirety by 2003. Clinton oversaw the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. Months into his first term, he signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 , which raised taxes and set the stage for future budget surpluses. He signed
6834-1221: A result of whistleblowing. Revealing a whistleblower's identity can automatically put their life in danger. Some media outlets associate words like "traitor" and "treason" with whistleblowers, and in many countries around the world, the punishment for treason is the death penalty , even if whoever allegedly committed treason may not have caused anyone physical harm. In some instances, whistleblowers must flee their country to avoid public scrutiny, threats of death or physical harm, and in some cases criminal charges. Whistleblowers are often protected under law from employer retaliation, but in many cases, punishment such as termination , suspension , demotion , wage garnishment , and/or harsh mistreatment by other employees occurs. A 2009 study found that up to 38% of whistleblowers experienced professional retaliation in some form, including wrongful termination. Following dismissal, whistleblowers may struggle to find employment due to damaged reputations, poor references, and blacklisting . The socioeconomic impact of whistleblowing through loss of livelihood and family strain may also impact whistleblowers' psychological well-being. Whistleblowers often experience immense stress as
7035-491: A role in the firings, but was unable to recall many specifics of conversations with Foster and Watkins. In late 1994, following the 1994 Congressional elections which switched Congress from Democratic to Republican control, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee , chaired by Pennsylvania Republican William Clinger , launched an investigation into the White House Travel Office firings. In October 1995,
7236-717: A sharp decline in ethical practices, as opposed to a gradual worsening. There are generally two metrics by which whistleblowers determine if a practice is unethical . The first metric involves a violation of the organization's bylaws or written ethical policies. These violations allow individuals to concretize and rationalize blowing the whistle. On the other hand, "value-driven" whistleblowers are influenced by their personal codes of ethics or by public service motivation which comes from an alignment of personal, cultural and organisational values. In these cases, whistleblowers have been criticized for being driven by personal biases. In addition to ethics, social and organizational pressure are
7437-409: A single Republican would vote in favor of Clinton's proposed bill. Senate Democrats eliminated the implementation of a new energy tax in favor of an increase in the gasoline tax , but Clinton successfully resisted efforts to defeat his proposed expansion of the earned income tax credit . By narrow margins, the Senate and the House of Representatives both passed versions of Clinton's budget bill, and
7638-419: A specific goal, adjusting how data is shown or explained, looking at data in a biased manner, and leaving out parts about data analysis and conclusions. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is well-known within the scientific community as a thoracic surgeon and former regenerative researcher. Dr Macchiarini claimed to have made profound advancements in trachea transplantation by using synthetic tracheal scaffolds planted with
7839-412: A stopgap measure. The government shut down again on December 16 after Clinton vetoed a Republican budget proposal that would have extended tax cuts to the wealthy, cut spending on social programs, and shifted control of Medicaid to the states. After a 21-day government shutdown, Republicans, in danger of being seen as extremists by many in the public, accepted Clinton's budget. Clinton secured passage of
8040-441: A topic called guerrilla government. "Rather than acting openly, guerrillas often choose to remain "in the closet", moving clandestinely behind the scenes, salmon swimming upstream against the current of power. Over the years, I have learned that the motivations driving guerrillas are diverse. The reasons for acting range from the altruistic (doing the right thing) to the seemingly petty (I was passed over for that promotion). Taken as
8241-618: A traditional liberal effort to structure the economy with the goals of creating new jobs, and producing fresh tax revenues that can support progressive policy innovations. This tradition goes back to the local and state policies inspired by the New Deal, and the "supply-side liberalism" of the 1970s. In 1993 substantive changes were made to food stamps while the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 authorized several demonstrations, including "an Innovative Homeless Initiatives Demonstration program,
White House travel office controversy - Misplaced Pages Continue
8442-532: A violation of law, gross mismanagement, and gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public safety or health. To prevail on a claim, a federal employee must show that a protected disclosure was made, that the accused official knew of the disclosure, that retaliation resulted, and that there was a genuine connection between the retaliation and the employee's action. Research fraud involves data, processes, or observations that were never there to begin with or later added on to fit
8643-944: A wall of silence and hostility by management or colleagues. Depression is often reported by whistleblowers, and suicidal thoughts may occur in up to about 10%. General deterioration in health and self care has been described. The range of symptomatology shares many of the features of posttraumatic stress disorder , though there is debate about whether the trauma experienced by whistleblowers meets diagnostic thresholds. Increased stress -related physical illness has also been described in whistleblowers. The stresses involved in whistleblowing can be huge and may deter whistleblowing out of fear of failure and reprisals. Some whistleblowers speak of overwhelming and persistent distress, drug and alcohol problems, paranoid behavior at work, acute anxiety , nightmares , flashbacks , and intrusive thoughts . This fear may indeed be justified because an individual who feels threatened by whistleblowing may plan
8844-451: A wall of silence, and prevent any organization from experiencing the improvements that may be afforded by intelligent failure. Some whistleblowers who break ranks with their organizations have had their mental stability questioned, such as Adrian Schoolcraft , the NYPD veteran who alleged falsified crime statistics in his department and was forcibly committed to a mental institution. Conversely,
9045-509: A week". The effect was intensified by cable television news and the advent of the 24-hour news cycle . Within three days of the firings, World Wide Travel voluntarily withdrew from the White House travel operation and were replaced on a temporary basis by American Express Travel Services. (Later, after a competitive bid, American Express received the permanent role to book press charters.) Various investigations took place. On May 28, 1993,
9246-451: A whole, their acts are as awe inspiring as saving human lives out of a love of humanity and as trifling as slowing the issuance of a report out of spite or anger." For example, of the more than 1,000 whistleblower complaints that are filed each year with the Pentagon's Inspector General , about 97 percent are not substantiated. It is believed throughout the professional world that an individual
9447-558: A year to $ 24.9 billion. In terms of housing, funding for federal housing assistance grew from an average of $ 20.4 billion a year in the eight years before Clinton's term to an average of $ 29 billion a year during his presidency. In 1997, a child tax credit was introduced that directly reduced a family's income tax bill by $ 500 per eligible child. In addition, federal funding for the Head Start program rose from $ 3.3 billion (in constant 2000 dollars) to $ 5.3 billion in 2000. In 1993, AmeriCorps
9648-419: Is bound to secrecy within their work sector. Discussions of whistleblowing and employee loyalty usually assume that the concept of loyalty is irrelevant to the issue or more commonly, that whistleblowing involves a moral choice that pits the loyalty that an employee owes an employer against the employee's responsibility to serve the public interest. Robert A. Larmer describes the standard view of whistleblowing in
9849-584: Is damning" and comparing her dark side to that of Richard Nixon , in whose White House he had once worked. In the legal aftermath, Swidler & Berlin v. United States became an important Supreme Court decision. The length, expense, and results of the Travelgate and the other investigations grouped under the Whitewater umbrella turned much of the public against the Independent Counsel mechanism. As such,
10050-461: Is less likely. There are examples of "early warning scientists" being harassed for bringing inconvenient truths about impending harm to the notice of the public and authorities. There have also been cases of young scientists being discouraged from entering controversial scientific fields for fear of harassment . In order to help whistleblowers, private organizations have formed whistleblower legal defense funds or support groups. Examples include
10251-470: Is never acknowledged or rectified. In a few cases, however, harm is done by the whistleblower to innocent people. Whistleblowers can make unintentional mistakes, and investigations can be tainted by the fear of negative publicity. An example occurred in the Canadian health ministry , when a new employee wrongly concluded that nearly every research contract she saw in 2012 involved malfeasance. The end result
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#173285595393910452-460: Is said to have coined the phrase in the early 1970s in order to avoid the negative connotations found in other words such as "informer" and "snitch". However, the origins of the word date back to the 19th century. The word is linked to the use of a whistle to alert the public or a crowd about such problems as the commission of a crime or the breaking of rules during a game. The phrase whistle blower attached itself to law enforcement officials in
10653-567: Is the most basic of ethical traits and simply telling the truth to stop illegal harmful activities or fraud against the government/taxpayers. In the opposite camp, many corporations and corporate or government leaders see whistleblowing as being disloyal for breaching confidentiality, especially in industries that handle sensitive client or patient information. Hundreds of laws grant protection to whistleblowers, but stipulations can easily cloud that protection and leave them vulnerable to retaliation and sometimes even threats and physical harm. However,
10854-576: Is to enhance public confidence in Canada's federal public institutions and in the integrity of public servants. Mandated by the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act , PSIC is a permanent and independent agent of Parliament . The act, which came into force in 2007, applies to most of the federal public sector , approximately 400,000 public servants . This includes government departments and agencies, parent Crown corporations,
11055-448: The Journal of Business Ethics by explaining that an employee possesses prima facie (based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise) duties of loyalty and confidentiality to their employers and that whistleblowing cannot be justified except on the basis of a higher duty to the public good . It is important to recognize that in any relationship which demands loyalty
11256-701: The 1912 election . Later studies showed that Perot drew his voters roughly equally from Clinton and Bush. Clinton's victory included a sweep of the Northeastern United States , and he also won several states in the Midwest , the West , and the South . By far voters' disappointment with the economy was the major favor in voting against the incumbent, with abortion a lesser factor. In the concurrent congressional elections , Democrats retained control of their majorities in both
11457-506: The 1992 Republican National Convention placed a heavy emphasis on social issues, Clinton's campaign focused on the state of the economy, which was still emerging from the early 1990s recession . On election day, Clinton won 43% of the popular vote and a wide majority in the Electoral College . Bush won 37.4% of the popular vote, while Perot took 18.9%, the strongest showing by a third party or independent presidential candidate since
11658-462: The 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas , took office following his victory over Republican incumbent president George H. W. Bush and independent businessman Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election . Four years later, in the 1996 presidential election , he defeated Republican nominee Bob Dole and Perot again (then as
11859-619: The Carter administration . Vice President Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton emerged as two of the most influential figures of the Clinton administration, and Clinton solicited their opinions on a wide range of issues. Clinton decided to appoint the first female Attorney General, settling on little-known corporate lawyer Zoë Baird . In what became known as the Nannygate matter, the Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that Baird had hired
12060-626: The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 , which deregulated trading of derivatives . The bill also included the " Enron loophole ", which lessened regulation of energy trading by companies such as Enron . Clinton also signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , which represented the first major overhaul of the Communications Act of 1934 . Clinton supported the right of homosexual individuals to serve in
12261-516: The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA). The act repealed a provision of the New Deal's Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 that had required banks to either classify themselves as either commercial bank , which were subject to federal oversight and protections like deposit insurance , or as investment banks , which faced less regulations but did not benefit from federal protections. The financial services industry had attempted to repeal this provision of
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#173285595393912462-617: The House of Representatives and the Senate , and Speaker of the House Tom Foley and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell both remained in their posts. Republicans Robert H. Michel and Bob Dole continued to serve as House Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader, respectively. Clinton used his inaugural address to deal with his uncertain mandate from the voters and lack of national experience. He drew heavily upon his lifelong study of
12663-587: The Lewinsky scandal . It did not mention the travel office matter. On November 19, 1998, Starr testified before the House Judiciary Committee in connection with the impeachment of Bill Clinton over charges related to the Lewinsky scandal. Here, for the first time, Starr exonerated President Clinton of complicity in the travel office affair, saying that while investigations were not complete, "the president
12864-608: The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 , becoming the first president to obtain that power although many had sought it. Its effect was very brief as the act was soon ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Clinton v. City of New York . Combined with a strong economy, the 1993 deficit reduction plan produced smaller budget deficits each year. With the improving state of the federal budget, Clinton and congressional Republicans reached
13065-660: The Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment made 1998 a lost year. Clinton concluded happily with Act VI by deregulating the banking system in 1999. In foreign policy, Clinton initiated a bombing campaign in the Balkans, which led to the creation of a United Nations protectorate in Kosovo . He played a major role of the expansion of NATO into former Eastern Bloc countries and remained on positive terms with Russian President Boris Yeltsin . During his second term, Clinton presided over
13266-550: The National Landscape Conservation System , a collection of 15 U.S. National Monuments and 14 National Conservation Areas to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management in such a way as to keep them "healthy, open, and wild." A major issue involved low fees charged ranchers who grazed cattle on public lands. The "animal unit month" (AUM) fee was only $ 1.35 and was far below the 1983 market value. The argument
13467-544: The National Whistleblower Center in the United States and Whistleblowers UK and Public Concern at Work (PCaW) in the United Kingdom. Depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for whistleblowers to be ostracized by their coworkers, discriminated against by future potential employers, or even fired from their organization. A campaign directed at whistleblowers with the goal of eliminating them from
13668-509: The Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations , and had started in the Travel Office in 1961. To handle the frequent last-minute arrangements of presidential travel and the specialized requirements of the press, Dale did not conduct competitive bidding for travel services, but relied upon a charter company called Airline of the Americas . According to the White House, the incoming Clinton administration had heard rumors of irregularities in
13869-477: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other federal public sector bodies. Not all disclosures lead to an investigation as the act sets out the jurisdiction of the commissioner and gives the option not to investigate under certain circumstances. On the other hand, if PSIC conducts an investigation and finds no wrongdoing was committed, the commissioner must report his findings to the discloser and to
14070-794: The Supreme Court . The first vacancy arose in March 1993, when Associate Justice Byron White informed Clinton of his impending retirement. Clinton considered various nominating political leaders like Mario Cuomo and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt , whom he believed could become leaders on the court in a similar fashion to Earl Warren . After weeks of consideration, Clinton began to favor appointing an experienced jurist, and he conducted interviews with Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg , both of whom served as federal appellate judges. Clinton announced Ginsburg's nomination in June 1993 and she
14271-536: The United States Courts of Appeals and 305 judges to the United States district courts . Among Clinton's appellate appointees were future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor , as well as Merrick Garland , who was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, though his nomination was never acted on by the Senate. Garland would later go on to become Attorney General under Joe Biden in 2021. Clinton proposed
14472-630: The United States Department of Labor (DOL) and laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) that protect whistleblowers in the private sector. Thus, despite government efforts to help regulate the private sector, the employees must still weigh their options. They either expose the company and stand the moral and ethical high ground; or expose
14673-419: The federal budget . Polls taken in early June 1992 showed Bush leading the race, followed by Perot and then Clinton. From July to September, Perot temporarily dropped out of the race, causing severe damage to his candidacy. At the 1992 Democratic National Convention , Clinton selected Senator Al Gore of Tennessee as his running mate, and the successful convention helped unify Democrats behind Clinton. While
14874-862: The media , government, or law enforcement. Some countries legislate as to what constitutes a protected disclosure, and the permissible methods of presenting a disclosure. Whistleblowing can occur in the private sector or the public sector. Whistleblowers often face retaliation for their disclosure, including termination of employment. Several other actions may also be considered retaliatory, including unreasonable increase in workloads, reduction of hours, preventing task completion, mobbing or bullying. Laws in many countries attempt to provide protection for whistleblowers and regulate whistleblowing activities. These laws tend to adopt different approaches to public and private sector whistleblowing. Whistleblowers do not always achieve their aims; for their claims to be credible and successful, they must have compelling evidence so that
15075-465: The "Sapin 2 Law") provides for the first time a single legal definition of whistleblowers in France. It defines him or her as " an individual who discloses or reports, in a disinterested manner and in good faith, a crime or an offence, a serious and manifest breach of an international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act of an international organization adopted on the basis of such
15276-403: The 1960s for people who revealed wrongdoing, such as Nader. It eventually evolved into the compound word whistleblower . Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who report misconduct on a fellow employee or superior within their company through anonymous reporting mechanisms often called hotlines . Within such situations, circumstances and factors can cause a person to either act on
15477-531: The 19th century because they used a whistle to alert the public or fellow police. Sports referees , who use a whistle to indicate an illegal or foul play , also were called whistle blowers. An 1883 story in Wisconsin's Janesville Gazette called a policeman who used his whistle to alert citizens about a riot a whistle blower , without the hyphen. By the year 1963, the phrase had become a hyphenated word, whistle-blower . The word began to be used by journalists in
15678-958: The Aftermath of the Travel Office Firings and President Clinton Led the Misinformation Campaign from the First Days of the Travelgate Debacle", "Foster's Death Shattered a White House Just Recovering from an Abysmal First 6 Months of Administration", and so forth. Democratic members of the Committee walked out in protest over the report, with ranking member Henry Waxman calling it "an embarrassment to you [Chairman Clinger], this committee and this Congress" and "a crassly partisan smear campaign against President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton and this administration." The following month Clinger forwarded
15879-565: The Clinton White House". Spectator publisher R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. would claim that the magazine's early Travelgate stories provided useful material to the congressional investigations. In general, Clinton administration controversies such as Travelgate allowed opinion magazines and political debate television shows to attract subscribers and viewers. Meanwhile, as a consequence of the FBI investigation, former Travel Office Director Billy Dale
16080-503: The Clinton inner circle would always believe that political motivations had been behind the investigation, including an attempt to derail Hillary Clinton's role in the 1993 health care reform plan . But associate White House counsel William Kennedy would also later reflect that some of it was just "pure palpable hatred of the Clintons. It started and it never quit." Clinton administration [REDACTED] Bill Clinton 's tenure as
16281-637: The Democratic nomination in April 1992. Bush defeated a challenge from conservative commentator Pat Buchanan to win his party's nomination. Meanwhile, independent candidate Ross Perot , a billionaire businessman from Texas, emerged as a major factor in the race. Perot ran a populist campaign that focused on voters disillusioned with both parties, and he emphasized his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and his desire to balance
16482-505: The Democratic nomination were former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, former Governor Jerry Brown of California, and Bill Clinton , who had served as the Governor of Arkansas since 1983. Clinton emerged as the front-runner for the nomination after the first set of primaries in February 1992. A founding member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council , Clinton overcame opposition from more liberal Democrats like Brown and clinched
16683-749: The EU Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Equality and the Rule of Law emphasized that ministries, as legal entities in the public sector, are also explicitly required to establish internal reporting channels for their employees. It provides equal rights for whistleblowers in the national security sector who challenge denial or removal of their security clearances . Also, whistleblowers are protected from criminal prosecution and corporate lawsuits for damages resulting from their whistleblowing and provided with psychological support for dealing with harassment stress. Good government observers have hailed
16884-458: The EU directive as setting "the global standard for best practice rights protecting freedom of speech where it counts the most—challenging abuses of power that betray the public trust ," according to the U.S.-based Government Accountability Project . They have noted, however, that ambiguities remain in the directive regarding application in some areas, such as "duty speech", that is, when employees report
17085-525: The English Misplaced Pages, this section emphasizes the English-speaking world and covers other regimes only insofar as they represent exceptionally greater or lesser protections. There are laws in a number of states. The former Australian intelligence officer known as Witness K , who provided evidence of Australia's controversial spying operation against the government of East Timor in 2004, face
17286-495: The FBI issued a report saying it had done nothing wrong in its contacts with the White House. (This conclusion was reiterated by a March 1994 report by the Justice Department 's Office of Professional Responsibility .) Meanwhile, the FBI investigation of the Travel Office practices themselves continued, soon focusing on Travel Office Director Billy Dale. who was charged with embezzlement but found not guilty in 1995. During
17487-467: The FBI look into possible improprieties in the Travel Office operation. FBI agents went there and, although initially reluctant, authorized a preliminary investigation. Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster became worried about the firings about to take place and ordered the KPMG Peat Marwick review, asking the FBI to hold off in the meantime. The accounting review started on May 14 and the report
17688-452: The First Lady's wishes." This memo contradicted the First Lady's previous statements in the GAO investigation, that she had played no role in the firings and had not consulted with Thomason beforehand. The White House also found it difficult to explain why the memo was so late in surfacing when all the previous investigations had requested all relevant materials. House committee chair Clinger charged
17889-495: The GAO, Congress, or the Independent Counsel. The Congressional investigation continued; on March 21, 1996, Hillary Clinton submitted a deposition under oath to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, again acknowledging concern about irregularities in the Travel Office but denying a direct role in the firings and expressing a lack of recollection to a number of questions. A battle of wills took place between
18090-627: The GLBA since the 1980s, and they were finally successful due to cooperation from Secretary of the Treasury Rubin and Clintonians, who believed that the financial industry needed looser regulation in order for it to remain competitive globally. The bill passed both houses of Congress with only minimal resistance. Opposition to the plan came primarily from liberals like Senator Paul Wellstone , who feared that looser banking regulations would lead to financial crises. Shortly before leaving office, Clinton signed
18291-613: The Independent Counsel law expired in 1999, with critics saying it cost too much with too few results; even Kenneth Starr favored the law's demise. Opinions would differ over the legacy of the affair. Some agreed with Safire, who had said that Hillary Clinton was "a vindictive power player who used the FBI to ruin the lives of people standing in the way of juicy patronage." Conservative commentator Barbara Olson would entitle her highly unflattering 1999 book Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton , in reference to Clinton's Travelgate phrase. Bill Clinton later described
18492-647: The President . Secretary of Defense Les Aspin resigned in the aftermath of the Battle of Mogadishu and was succeeded by William Perry . Bentsen and McLarty also left office in 1994, and they were replaced by Rubin and Panetta, respectively. After Clinton's re-election, Panetta stepped down and was replaced by former deputy chief of staff Erskine Bowles . Madeleine Albright became the first female Secretary of State, Sandy Berger succeeded Lake as National Security Adviser, and former Republican Senator William Cohen became
18693-546: The Protestant Bible, his education at Catholic Georgetown University, and the inaugural addresses of Ronald Reagan , Richard Nixon , John Kennedy , Jimmy Carter , and Woodrow Wilson . Mack McLarty , a long-time friend of Clinton who had led a successful business career and had served as the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, became Clinton's first chief of staff. Clinton convinced Lloyd Bentsen ,
18894-545: The Republican Revolution swept the country. Clinton vetoed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995 . He assembled a bipartisan coalition to pass welfare reform and successfully expanded health insurance for children . While Clinton's economy was strong, his presidency oscillated dramatically from high to low and back again, which historian Gil Troy characterized in six Acts. Act I in early 1993
19095-553: The Republican reform plan over no reform at all. In July 1996, Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act , which terminated AFDC. In its place, the bill created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which imposed new work requirements for and lifetime limits on aid recipients, and shifted responsibility for the administration of the programs to the states. Due in part to
19296-473: The Secretary of Defense. According to reporter John Harris, Berger's close rapport with Clinton made him the leading foreign policy figure of Clinton's second term, as well as the most influential National Security Advisor since Henry Kissinger . John Podesta assumed the position of Chief of Staff in 1998, while Lawrence Summers replaced Rubin as Treasury Secretary in 1999. Clinton appointed two justices to
19497-611: The Senate refused to ratify it since the agreement did not apply to the rapidly growing emissions of developing countries , such as China, India, and Indonesia. The key person on environmental issues was Bruce Babbitt , the former head of the League of Conservation Voters , who served for all eight years as Clinton's Secretary of the Interior . According to John D. Leshy: The Interior Department worked to protect scenic and historic areas of America's federal public lands. In 2000 Babbitt created
19698-404: The Senate. He appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court . With a 66% approval rating at the time he left office, Clinton had the highest exit approval rating of any president since the end of World War II . His preferred successor, Vice President Al Gore , was narrowly defeated by George W. Bush in the heavily-contested 2000 presidential election , winning
19899-570: The Travel Office and possible kickbacks to an office employee from a charter air company. They looked at a review by KPMG Peat Marwick which discovered that Dale kept an off-book ledger, had $ 18,000 of unaccounted-for checks, and kept chaotic office records. White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty and the White House counsels thus decided to fire the Travel Office staff and reorganize it. The actual terminations were done on May 19, 1993, by White House director of administration David Watkins. There
20100-543: The Travel Office members improperly, for appearing to pressure the FBI into its involvement, and for allowing friends of the Clintons to become involved in a matter with which they had a business stake. It said that the employees should instead have been placed on administrative leave. However, the White House said no illegal actions had occurred, and no officials would be terminated; this did not satisfy Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole , who called for an independent investigation. As Chief of Staff McLarty personally apologized to
20301-571: The Travel Office were warranted. On the other hand, Bill Powers , chair of the New York Republican State Committee , said the report "once again makes us question" the believability of Clinton, and Congressman Rick Lazio , her Republican opponent in the Senate election, said "We believe that character counts in public service." New York Times columnist Safire updated his description of Hillary Clinton to "habitual prevaricator", saying "the evidence that she has been lying all along
20502-503: The Travel Office's alleged mismanagement and had been informed two days in advance that the firings would take place. There was no indication of involvement from President Clinton himself, although he had earlier taken broad public responsibility for what had happened. The travel office controversy was subsequently judged to have been a factor in Vince Foster's depression and July 20, 1993, suicide . In his torn-up resignation note from
20703-519: The Watkins memo, and based upon a suggestion from the Office of Independent Counsel, on March 20, 1996, Attorney General Janet Reno requested that Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr expand his inquiry to specifically include the travel office affair, in particular allegations that White House employees had lied about Hillary Clinton's role in the firings, and that David Watkins or Hillary Clinton had made false statements in previous testimony to
20904-432: The Whitewater matter, and dispatched her trusted lieutenants to contain any potential embarrassment or political damage." Minority Democratic members of the Committee derided these findings as "a legislative travesty," "a witch hunt," and "a political game." The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee issued its majority report on September 18, 1996, in which it accused the Clinton administration of having obstructed
21105-645: The adverse post-operational effects, and complications of the surgery. Patients experienced severe health problems; several died post-surgery. The acts of Dr. Macchiarini led to the retractions of research articles from the Lancet , the termination of his academic positions, and criminal inquiries in Sweden. It also sparked concerns over the supervision and control of clinical trials utilizing experimental techniques. Individual harm, damage to public trust, and threats to national security are three categories of harm that may come as
21306-457: The aged. Clinton proposed a $ 30 billion economic stimulus package in his first year in office, but his proposal was blocked by Senate Republicans, and he would be unable to win the passage of any similar proposal for the remainder of his presidency. Clinton held office at a time when monetarism had supplanted Keynesianism as the dominant theory of economic growth among many in Washington. Under
21507-419: The allegations and investigation as "a fraud", while in her 2003 autobiography Hillary Clinton gave short shrift to the matter, never mentioning Billy Dale by name and saying that " 'Travelgate'... was perhaps worthy of a two- or three-week life span; instead, in a partisan political climate, it became the first manifestation of an obsession for investigation that persisted into the next millennium." Many in
21708-513: The bipartisan Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and won ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement , despite opposition from trade unions and environmentalists. Clinton's most ambitious legislative initiative, a plan to provide universal health care , faltered, as it never had majority support in Congress due to the Republican Revolution . In the 1994 elections ,
21909-488: The budgetary surplus, Clinton successfully resisted any major budgetary changes in the last three years of his term. In 1997, Clinton agreed to a deal with Republicans that lowered the tax rate on capital gains to 20 percent, implemented a $ 500 child tax credit, increased funding for children's health care, and raised the federal cigarette tax from 24 cents per pack to 39 cents per pack. Republicans did, however, block some of Clinton's favored policies, including an increase of
22110-461: The campaign. Martens wanted the White House to award TRM a $ 500,000 contract for an aircraft audit, while also seeking Travel Office charter business as an intermediary which did not own any planes. Attention initially focused on the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), since on May 12, 1993, a week before the firings, associate White House counsel William Kennedy had requested that
22311-966: The career destruction of the "complainant" by reporting fictitious errors or rumors. This technique, labelled as " gaslighting ", is a common approach used by organizations to manage employees who cause difficulty by raising concerns. In extreme cases, this technique involves the organization or manager proposing that the complainant's mental health is unstable. Organizations also often attempt to ostracize and isolate whistleblowers by undermining their concerns by suggesting that they are groundless, carrying out inadequate investigations, or ignoring them altogether. Whistleblowers may also be disciplined, suspended, and reported to professional bodies upon manufactured pretexts. Such extreme experiences of threat and loss inevitably cause severe distress and sometimes mental illness, sometimes lasting for years afterwards. This mistreatment also deters others from coming forward with concerns. Thus, poor practices remain hidden behind
22512-724: The child abduction AMBER Alert system for news stations and the national sex offender registry. In November 1993, Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act , which required a background check for gun purchasers. In 1994, Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act , which included a provision known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban . The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act provided funding for 100,000 local law enforcement officials, and established
22713-460: The claim but took no action.) Republicans and other critics saw the events differently. They alleged that friends of President Bill Clinton , including his third cousin Catherine Cornelius, had sought the firings in order to get the business for themselves. Dale and his staff had been replaced with Little Rock, Arkansas -based World Wide Travel, a company with a substantial reputation in
22914-554: The committee began hearings on the matter; Clinger soon accused the White House of withholding pertinent documents and sought subpoenas to compel witnesses to appear. Not all investigations were by governmental bodies. The magazine The American Spectator , which had a well-established animus towards the First Couple, focused on the Travelgate story as one of many Clinton-related matters it thought scandalous, describing it as "a story about influence-peddling and sleazy deal-making... in
23115-479: The committee's efforts to investigate the Travelgate scandal. It portrayed Bill Clinton as being heavily involved in the travel office affair, more than any other investigation. The report's chapter titles were lurid: "The White House Stonewalled All Investigations into the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters", "The White House Initiated a Full-Scale Campaign of Misinformation in
23316-442: The committee's investigations had discovered that the White House had requested access to Billy Dale's FBI background check report seven months after the terminations, in what Clinger said was an improper effort to justify the firings. It was rapidly discovered that the White House had additionally gotten improper access to hundreds of other FBI background reports, many on former White House employees in Republican administrations; thus
23517-593: The company or to blow the whistle on the company's wrongdoing. Discussions on whistleblowing generally revolve around three topics: attempts to define whistleblowing more precisely, debates about whether and when whistleblowing is permissible, and debates about whether and when one has an obligation to blow the whistle. Many whistleblowers have stated that they were motivated to take action to put an end to unethical practices after witnessing injustices in their businesses or organizations. A 2009 study found that whistleblowers are often motivated to take action when they notice
23718-463: The company, lose their job, their reputation and potentially the ability to be employed again. According to a study at the University of Pennsylvania , out of three hundred whistleblowers studied, sixty-nine percent had foregone that exact situation and were either fired or forced to retire after taking the ethical high ground. It is outcomes like these that make it all that much harder to accurately track
23919-499: The day he was due to give deposition testimony as a whistleblower against aerospace company Boeing , and David Kelly , who was found dead two days after the UK parliamentary Intelligence and Security and Foreign Affairs Select Committees publicized that he would be called about the dubious claims used to convince the UK Parliament to vote to invade Iraq. U.S. civic activist Ralph Nader
24120-467: The decision and action has become far more complicated with recent advancements in technology and communication. The ethical implications of whistleblowing can be negative as well as positive. Some have argued that public sector whistleblowing plays an important role in the democratic process by resolving principal–agent problems . However, sometimes employees may blow the whistle as an act of revenge. Rosemary O'Leary explains this in her short volume on
24321-485: The decision. Moreover, the GAO report indicated that the First Lady played a larger role than previously thought before the firings, with Watkins saying she had urged "that action be taken to get 'our people' into the travel office." The First Lady, who had given a written statement to the inquiry, said she did "not recall this conversation with the same level of detail as Mr. Watkins." Special prosecutor Robert B. Fiske tangentially investigated travel office events during
24522-474: The deficit, Clinton would encourage Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to lower interest rates, which, along with increased confidence among investors, would lead to an economic boom. Some of Clinton's advisers also believed that a focus on cutting the deficit would be politically beneficial since it would potentially help Democrats shed their supposed "tax and spend" reputation. Though Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argued that stagnant earnings represented
24723-402: The deregulation of the financial and telecommunications industry. Clinton's second term also saw the first federal budget surpluses since the 1960s. The ratio of debt held by the public to GDP fell from 47.8% in 1993 to 33.6% by 2000. His impeachment in 1998 arose after he denied claims of having an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky under oath. He was acquitted of all charges by
24924-473: The economy improved in mid-to-late 1990s. Though much of the credit for the strong economy was assigned to Greenspan, the Clinton administration also basked in the approval of Americans who enjoyed the benefits of a strong economy, and good economic conditions helped Clinton remain popular despite controversies over his personal life. Clinton presided over a period of deregulation in the telecommunications and financial industries. In 1999, Clinton signed into law
25125-448: The economy-focused Clinton did. The Clinton administration responded to public demand for environmental protection. Clinton created 17 national monuments by executive order, prohibiting commercial activities such as logging, mining, and drilling for oil or gas. Clinton also imposed a permanent freeze on drilling in maritime sanctuaries. Other presidential and departmental orders protected various wetlands and coastal resources and extended
25326-443: The emotional strain of a whistleblower investigation is devastating to the accused's family. Ethics is the set of moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. Deeper questions and theories of whistleblowing and why people choose to do so can be studied through an ethical approach. Whistleblowing is a topic of several myths and inaccurate definitions. Leading arguments in the ideological camp maintain that whistleblowing
25527-439: The environment, but internal policies might pose threats of retaliation to those who report these early warnings. Private company employees in particular might be at risk of being fired, demoted, denied raises and so on for bringing environmental risks to the attention of appropriate authorities. Government employees could be at a similar risk for bringing threats to health or the environment to public attention, although perhaps this
25728-469: The eventual retraction of Dr. Burt’s work. Data manipulation is the changing or omitting of data or outcomes in such a way that the research is not accurately portrayed in the research record. Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk , a South Korean stem cell researcher gained international recognition for his groundbreaking work on cloning and stem cell research. Dr. Woo-Suk had a claim to successfully clone human embryos and derived patient-specific stem cell lines, forwarding
25929-448: The existing moratorium on new oil leases off the coast line through 2013. After the Republican victory in the 1994 elections, Clinton vetoed a series of budget bills that contained amendments designed to scale back environmental restrictions. Clinton boasted that his administration "adopted the strongest air-quality protections ever, improved the safety of our drinking water and food, cleaned up about three times as many toxic waste sites as
26130-417: The federal minimum wage and legislation designed to provide free prescription drugs to seniors. When Clinton took office, approximately twenty percent of American adults lacked health insurance, despite the fact that the United States spent more on health care than other developed countries . Many liberals advocated the establishment of a single-payer healthcare system similar to that of Canada , while
26331-447: The field of regenerative medicine which was published in the Journal of Science . Dr. Kim Seon-Jung expressed his concerns regarding the accuracy of the research data and the ethical conduct of the experiments. Independent committees, as well as journalists, scrutinized the research data and methodology leading to an eventual retraction of his work. Ethical violations can fall under the following: altering or making up new data to meet
26532-427: The fired Travel Office employees—some of whom had all their personal documents and travel photographs related to years of service thrown out during the firing process—and said they would be given other jobs (which five of them were; Dale and his assistant director retired.) The White House report also contained the initial indications of the First Lady's involvement in the firings, saying that she had taken an interest in
26733-405: The first half of 1994, as part of investigating the circumstances surrounding Foster's death. In August 1994, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr took over from Fiske in investigating Whitewater , Foster, and indirectly the travel office matter. On July 22, 1995, Hillary Clinton gave a deposition under oath to the Independent Counsel that touched on travel office questions; she denied having had
26934-525: The first hundred days of the 104th Congress , but many observers continued to wonder if the Speaker would seize stewardship over domestic policy from the office of the president. Meanwhile, with conservatism on the rise and New Deal liberalism in retreat, Clinton hoped to forge a new consensus that did not totally reject government interventionism. In reaction to his party's electoral defeat, Clinton hired consultant Dick Morris , who advocated that Clinton pursue
27135-530: The good of society. People who choose to act as whistleblowers often suffer retaliation from their employer. They most likely are fired because they are an at-will employee , which means they can be fired without a reason. There are exceptions in place for whistleblowers who are at-will employees. Even without a statute, numerous decisions encourage and protect whistleblowing on grounds of public policy. Statutes state that an employer shall not take any adverse employment actions against any employee in retaliation for
27336-629: The government or regulating body can investigate them and hold corrupt companies and/or government agencies to account. To succeed, they must also persist in their efforts over what can often be years, in the face of extensive, coordinated and prolonged efforts that institutions can deploy to silence, discredit, isolate, and erode their financial and mental wellbeing. Whistleblowers have been likened to ‘Prophets at work’, but many lose their jobs, are victims of campaigns to discredit and isolate them, suffer financial and mental pressures, and some lose their lives. Such examples include John Barnett , who died on
27537-476: The identity of the whistleblower, these services are designed to inform the individuals at the top of the organizational pyramid of misconduct, usually via integration with specialized case management software . Implementing a third-party solution is often the easiest way for an organization to promote compliance, or to offer a whistleblowing policy where one did not previously exist. An increasing number of companies and authorities use third-party services in which
27738-456: The improving economy and the expansion of the earned income tax credit, the number of Americans receiving cash public assistance declined from 12.2 million in 1996 to 5.3 million in 2001. Commentators have sometimes speculated that Clinton's emphasis on entrepreneurship and the post-industrial sector was the co-option of conservative ideas first presented by Reagan Republicans in the 1980s. However Brent Cebul argues that triangulation represented
27939-432: The industry but with several ties to the Clintons. In addition, Hollywood producer and Inauguration chairman Harry Thomason , a friend of both Clintons, and his business partner, Darnell Martens, were looking to get their air charter company, TRM, the White House business in place of Airline of the Americas. The Clinton campaign had been TRM's sole client during 1992, collecting commissions from booking charter flights for
28140-440: The information, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies , or other local, state, or federal agencies. In some cases, external whistleblowing is encouraged by offering monetary rewards. Sometimes organizations use external agencies to create a secure and anonymous reporting channel for their employees, often referred to as a whistleblowing hotline. In addition to protecting
28341-628: The involvement of the FBI was unwarranted. Heavy media attention forced the White House to reinstate most of the employees in other jobs and remove the Clinton associates from the travel role. Further investigations by the FBI and the Department of Justice , the White House itself, the General Accounting Office , the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee , and the Whitewater Independent Counsel all took place over
28542-410: The legislative and executive branches. On May 9, 1996, President Clinton refused to turn over additional documents related to the matter, claiming executive privilege . House committee chair Clinger threatened a contempt of Congress resolution against the president, and the White House partially backed down on May 30, surrendering 1,000 of the 3,000 documents the committee asked for. Meanwhile,
28743-488: The military after they revealed their homosexuality. In September 1996, Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act , which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages , though it had passed with a veto-proof majority and he called the law unnecessary and divisive. On taking office, Clinton revoked a gag order that had prevented abortion counseling in federally funded clinics. He also signed an executive order allowing
28944-480: The military, and, along with Secretary of Defense Les Aspin , he developed a plan that would allow openly gay individuals to serve in the military. Clinton's proposal received strong pushback from military leaders, especially Marine Commandant Carl Epting Mundy Jr. In response, General Colin Powell suggested a compromise solution in which the military would not ask recruits about their sexual orientation, but would retain
29145-454: The monies for the substantial tips and off-the-book payments that the job required, especially in foreign countries, and that anything left over was used as a discount against future trips. At the 13-day trial in October and November 1995, prominent journalists such as ABC News ' Sam Donaldson and The Los Angeles Times ' Jack Nelson testified as character witnesses on Dale's behalf. Much of
29346-452: The motivating force behind the firings, with the additional involvement of Vince Foster and Harry Thomason. "Foster regularly informed me that the First Lady was concerned and desired action. The action desired was the firing of the Travel Office staff." Written in fall 1993, apparently intended for McLarty, the Watkins memo also said "we both know that there would be hell to pay" if "we failed to take swift and decisive action in conformity with
29547-582: The nominee of the Reform Party ), to win re-election. Clinton served two terms and was succeeded by Republican George W. Bush , who won the 2000 presidential election . Clinton's presidency coincided with the rise of the Internet . This rapid rise of the Internet under Clinton led to several dot-com startups , which quickly became popular investments and business ventures. The dot-com bubble from 1997 to 2000 as
29748-401: The non-partisan General Accounting Office investigate the firings; on May 2, 1994, the GAO concluded that the White House did have legal authority to terminate the Travel Office employees without cause, because they served at the pleasure of the president. However, it also concluded that Cornelius, Thomason, and Martens, who all had potential business interests involved, had possibly influenced
29949-421: The organization is referred to as mobbing . It is an extreme form of workplace bullying wherein the group is set against the targeted individual. There is limited research on the psychological impacts of whistle blowing. However, poor experiences with whistleblowing can cause a prolonged and prominent assault on the well-being of the whistleblower. As workers attempt to address concerns, they are often met with
30150-688: The organization's chief executive. Also, reports of founded wrongdoing are presented before the House of Commons and the Senate in accordance with the act. The act also established the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal (PSDPT) to protect public servants by hearing reprisal complaints referred by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner . The tribunal can grant remedies in favour of complainants and order disciplinary action against persons who take reprisals. The European Parliament approved
30351-403: The other. Speaking out is difficult, especially in a culture where this is not promoted or even actively discouraged. Some academics (such as Thomas Faunce ) feel that whistleblowers should at least be entitled to a rebuttable presumption that they are attempting to apply ethical principles in the face of obstacles and that whistleblowing would be more respected in governance systems if it had
30552-630: The participating news organizations. By the time of the start of the Clinton administration, it was quartered in the Old Executive Office Building , and had seven employees with a yearly budget of $ 7 million. Staffers serve at the pleasure of the president; however, in practice, the staffers were career employees who in some cases had worked in the Travel Office since the 1960s and 1970s, through both Democratic and Republican administrations. Travel Office Director Billy Ray Dale had held that position since 1982, serving through most of
30753-400: The patient’s own stem cells. The goal was that the stem cells would eventually provide the patient with a suitable replacement trachea. Dr. Karl-Henrik Grinnemo, a member of Dr. Machiarini’s research team, raised concerns about the accuracy of the reported results and the ethical conduct of the experiments. Dr. Macchiarini’s ethical violations include exaggeration of success, failure to disclose
30954-420: The plan would prevent insurers from charging different rates to customers based on age and pre-existing conditions . After winning the passage of OBRA–93 and the ratification of NAFTA in 1993, the President made health care his major area of legislative focus in 1994. Though many corporations supported Clinton's health care proposal in hopes of reducing their own costs, several other groups strongly objected to
31155-418: The plan. Liberals criticized Clinton for not proposing more far-reaching reforms, while conservatives attacked the expansion of government. Interest groups ran ad campaigns alleging that the Clinton health care bill would lead to health care rationing , reduced choices, and increased costs. The Health Insurance Association of America 's " Harry and Louise " ad campaign proved especially important in influencing
31356-458: The pleasure of, the President). The White House stated the firings were done because financial improprieties in the Travel Office operation during previous administrations had been revealed by an FBI investigation. Critics contended the firings were done to allow friends and campaign donors of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to take over the travel business and that
31557-472: The popular vote. Historians and political scientists generally rank Clinton as an above-average president. President George H. W. Bush 's popularity in the aftermath of the successful 1991 Gulf War convinced many prominent Democrats to sit out the 1992 presidential election. With party leaders like Mario Cuomo and Dick Gephardt staying out of the running, the 1992 Democratic primary field consisted of relatively unknown candidates. Among those who sought
31758-543: The possibility of jail if convicted. Whistleblowers Australia is an association for those who have exposed corruption or any form of malpractice, especially if they were then hindered or abused. The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) provides a safe and confidential mechanism enabling public servants and the general public to disclose wrongdoings committed in the public sector. It also protects from reprisal public servants who have disclosed wrongdoing and those who have cooperated in investigations. The office's goal
31959-468: The president she had a new slogan for his reelection campaign: "I'm going to end welfare as we know it for farmers." Clinton was annoyed and retorted, "Farmers are good people. I know we have to do these things. We're going to make these cuts. But we don't have to feel good about it." Whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing ) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within
32160-501: The prevalence of whistleblowing in the private sector. Public sector whistleblowing is connected to the concept of public service motivation , where a public servant's altruistic alignment to the people or communities they service overrides their adherence to their employer's rules. This connection has been demonstrated by research in many different countries, including the Poland, Thailand and United States of America. Recognition of
32361-501: The procedure potentially life-saving and arguing that the small group of women likely to be affected should not become pawns. Catholic bishops condemned his move. Clinton vetoed another such law in 1997. Republicans later passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act , which was signed by President George W. Bush in 2003. In October 1996, Clinton signed into law the Amber Hangerman Child Protection Act, which created
32562-414: The process was significant, if not the significant factor influencing the pace of events in the Travel Office firings and the ultimate decision to fire the employees." Moreover, Ray determined Hillary Clinton had given "factually false" testimony when questioned by the GAO, the Independent Counsel, and Congress about the travel office firings, but reiterated that "the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond
32763-614: The public against the Clinton health care bill. Meanwhile, Congressmen Newt Gingrich and columnist Bill Kristol convinced congressional Republicans to resist any form of compromise. Clinton's decision not to engage congressional Democrats and moderate Republicans early in 1993, and his own refusal to compromise on various aspects of the bill, further damaged any hope of passing a major health care bill. With Republicans unified against his plan, and with his own party divided, Clinton decided to abandon health care reform in September 1994. Within
32964-409: The relationship works both ways and involves mutual enrichment. The ethics of Edward Snowden's actions have been widely discussed and debated in news media and academia worldwide. Snowden released classified intelligence to the American people in an attempt to allow Americans to see the inner workings of the government. A person is diligently tasked with the conundrum of choosing to be loyal to
33165-446: The report, along with one on Filegate, to the Independent Counsel, suggesting that the testimony of several witnesses be looked at for possible perjury or obstruction of justice . Democrats said this was politically motivated in an attempt to influence the 1996 presidential election . Almost two years passed. Independent Counsel Starr continued his investigation. Starr wanted access to notes that Vince Foster's attorney took in
33366-407: The review came back with its reports of irregularities, Watkins went ahead with the terminations on May 19. The travel office affair quickly became the first major ethics controversy of the Clinton presidency and an embarrassment for the new administration. Criticism from political opponents and especially the news media became intense; the White House was later described as having been "paralyzed for
33567-432: The right to discharge those who were gay. Clinton resisted the compromise policy, which became known as " don't ask, don't tell ", but congressional leaders of both parties made it clear that they would reverse any executive order allowing gay individuals to openly serve in the military. Clinton ultimately accepted the don't ask, don't tell policy, and over the ensuing ten years approximately 10,000 people were discharged from
33768-401: The same information in the course of a job assignment, for example, to a supervisor, instead of whistleblowing as formal dissent . In fact, duty speech is how the overwhelming majority of whistleblowing information gets communicated and where the free flow of information is needed for an organization's proper functioning. However it is in response to such "duty speech" employee communication that
33969-548: The section 8 pension fund demonstration, and the NCDI program." A Direct Student Loan Program was introduced, along with an Early Head Start program for children aged 0 to 3 and a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to support both specialized financial institutions and traditional banks serving lower-income communities. In addition, the Medicare Benefit Package was expanded. The Earned Income Tax Credit
34170-465: The seven dismissed employees were back in the picture. In March 1996 the House voted 350–43 to reimburse them for all of their legal expenses; in September 1996, Democratic Senator Harry Reid led an unsuccessful attempt to block this measure. In May 1996, the seven filed a $ 35 million lawsuit against Harry Thomason and Darnell Martens, alleging unlawful interference with their employment and emotional distress. On June 5, 1996, Clinger announced that
34371-465: The share of families with investments in stocks rose from 32 percent in 1989 to 51 percent in 2001. Income inequality also grew, as the richest households earned a higher proportion of the total income. Nonetheless, median household income, adjusted for inflation to 2000 dollars, grew from $ 38,262 in 1995 to $ 42,151 in 2000. By 2000, the unemployment rate had declined to four percent, while the poverty rate had declined to 11.3 percent. David Greenberg,
34572-453: The spot to prevent/stop illegal and unacceptable behavior, or report it. There are some reasons to believe that people are more likely to take action with respect to unacceptable behavior, within an organization, if there are complaint systems that offer not just options dictated by the planning and control organization, but a choice of options for absolute confidentiality. Anonymous reporting mechanisms, as mentioned previously, help foster
34773-578: The subsequent years. Travel Office Director Billy Dale was charged with embezzlement but found not guilty in 1995. In 1998, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr exonerated Bill Clinton of any involvement in the matter. Hillary Clinton gradually came under scrutiny for allegedly having played a central role in the firings and making false statements about her involvement therein. In 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray issued his final report on Travelgate. He sought no charges against her, saying that while some of Clinton's statements were factually false, there
34974-489: The summer of 1993, the other staffers of the office were informed that they were no longer a target of the investigation. On July 2, 1993, the White House issued its own 80-page report on the firings, one that the New York Times termed "strikingly self-critical". Co-written by Chief of Staff McLarty, it criticized five White House officials, included McLarty himself, Watkins, Kennedy, Cornelius, and another, for dismissing
35175-418: The suspense ended when Ray submitted the final Independent Counsel report on the travel office affair under seal to the judicial panel in charge of the investigation and publicly announced that he would seek no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. Ray said that she had, contrary to her statements, "ultimately influenced" the decision to fire the employees. However, "the evidence was insufficient to prove to
35376-538: The theory of monetarism, Clinton's fiscal policies would have relatively little impact on the economy. Instead, monetarists contended that the economy was guided by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors , a group of appointed officials who set monetary policy. Throughout Clinton's presidency, Alan Greenspan served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and he emerged as an especially prominent public figure as
35577-496: The trial focused on the details of the movement of Travel Office funds into Dale's personal account, and not on the political overtones of the case. The jury acquitted Dale of both charges on November 16, 1995, following less than two hours of deliberations. On January 5, 1996, a new development thrust the travel office matter again to the forefront. A two-year-old memo from White House director of administration David Watkins surfaced that identified First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as
35778-519: The two previous administrations combined, [and] helped to promote a new generation of fuel-efficient vehicles and vehicles that run on alternative fuels". Vice President Gore was keenly concerned with global climate change, and Clinton created the President's Council on Sustainable Development. In November 1998, Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol , an international agreement in which developed countries committed to reducing carbon emissions . However,
35979-449: The use of fetal tissue in medical research. These early policies moves signaled Clinton's break with the socially conservative policies of his predecessors. Clinton also signed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act , which made it a federal crime to obstruct abortion clinics and places of worship. In April 1996, Clinton vetoed a bill to prohibit late or partial birth abortion calling
36180-813: The value of public sector whistleblowing has been growing over the last 50 years. Many jurisdictions have passed legislation to protect public service whistleblowing in part as a way to address unethical behaviour and corruption within public service agencies. In the United States, for example, both state and Federal statutes have been put in place to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. The United States Supreme Court ruled that public sector whistleblowers are protected from retaliation by their First Amendment rights. After many federal whistleblowers were covered in high-profile media cases, laws were finally introduced to protect government whistleblowers. These laws were enacted to help prevent corruption and encourage people to expose misconduct, illegal, or dishonest activity for
36381-643: The vast majority of retaliation against employees occurs. These observers have noted that the Directive must be understood as applying to protection against retaliation for such duty speech because without such an understanding the Directive will "miss the iceberg of what's needed". In France , several recent laws have established a protection regime for whistleblowers. Prior to 2016, there were several laws in force which created disparate legislation with sector-specific regimes. The 2016 law on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of economic life (known as
36582-602: The whistle to uphold the values and rules of their organizations. Legal protection for whistleblowers varies from country to country and may depend on the country of the original activity, where and how secrets were revealed, and how they eventually became published or publicized. Over a dozen countries have now adopted comprehensive whistleblower protection laws that create mechanisms for reporting wrongdoing and provide legal protections. Over 50 countries have adopted more limited protections as part of their anti-corruption, freedom of information, or employment laws. For purposes of
36783-403: The whistleblower is also anonymous to the third-party service provider, which is made possible via toll-free phone numbers and/or web or app-based solutions that apply asymmetrical encryption . Private sector whistleblowing is arguably more prevalent and suppressed in society today. An example of private sector whistleblowing is when an employee reports to someone in a higher position such as
36984-416: Was a candidate for United States Senator from New York , and Starr had been replaced as Independent Counsel by prosecutor Robert Ray , who once worked for Rudy Giuliani , Clinton's then-opponent in the Senate race. Regardless, Ray vowed his investigation would have "no untoward effect on the political process." Ray was determined to wrap up the case before the end of Bill Clinton's term. On June 23, 2000,
37185-607: Was "Bush League" with amateurish distractions. By mid-1993 Clinton had recovered to Act II, passing a balanced budget and the NAFTA trade deal. Act III, 1994, saw the Republicans mobilizing under Newt Gingrich , defeating Clinton's healthcare reforms, and taking control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. The years 1995 to 1997 saw the comeback in Act IV, with a triumphant reelection landslide in 1996 . However, Act V,
37386-408: Was a role model for many in her generation—is a congenital liar" who "has never been called to account for lying herself or in suborning lying in her aides and friends," followed by White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry saying that "the President, if he were not the President, would have delivered a more forceful response to that—on the bridge of Mr. Safire's nose." As a result of the discovery of
37587-489: Was also a feeling among the White House and its supporters that the Travel Office had never been investigated by the media due to its close relationship with press corps members and the plush accommodations it afforded them and favors it did for them. (Congress would later discover that in October 1988, a whistleblower within the Travel Office had alleged financial improprieties; the Reagan White House counsel looked into
37788-400: Was basing his research on. Dr. Gillies's inquiry revealed that there were discrepancies to Dr. Burt’s work with inconsistencies in the twin's birth dates particularly with the absence of records for twins to participate in the study, the falsification of data, and the “invention of crucial facts to support his controversial theory that intelligence is largely inherited.” This led to
37989-453: Was born the Filegate controversy. The Senator Al D'Amato -chaired Senate Special Whitewater Committee , which had begun the previous year, issued its findings in a majority report on June 18, 1996; it did not investigate Travelgate directly, but did say that "[Hillary] Clinton, upon learning of [Vince] Foster's death, at least realized its connection to [the] Travelgate scandal, and perhaps to
38190-495: Was confirmed by the Senate two months later, making her the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court alongside Sandra Day O'Connor . Harry Blackmun retired in 1994, and Clinton successfully nominated Breyer to succeed Blackmun. The appointments did not greatly affect the ideological balance of the Rehnquist Court , as conservatives continued to hold a narrow majority on the Supreme Court. Clinton also appointed 66 judges to
38391-481: Was established, a community service program that provided young people with an opportunity to serve their communities and earn money for college or skills training. In just five years, nearly 200,000 young people were enrolled in the program. Clinton presided over a " Goldilocks economy ", a period of low inflation and low unemployment. During the 1990s, the Dow Jones Industrial Average quadrupled, and
38592-684: Was expanded to give a larger benefit to working families and allow childless workers to benefit as well. In 1996, Congress passed a 20% increase in the minimum wage, which boosted earnings for nearly 10 million Americans. As part of the Clinton Administration's welfare reforms, over 200,000 people on welfare received housing vouchers to help them move closer to jobs, while a welfare-to-work tax credit encouraged businesses to hire long-term welfare recipients. In addition, communities received federal support to design transportation solutions to help low-income workers get to work. Better nutritional support
38793-403: Was given to the White House on May 17. KPMG was unable to do an actual audit, because there were so few records in the Travel Office that could be audited and because the office did not use the double-entry bookkeeping system that audits are based upon. One KPMG representative later described the office as "an ungodly mess in terms of records" with ten years of material piled up in a closet. When
38994-466: Was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 7, 1994, on two counts of embezzlement and criminal conversion , charged with wrongfully depositing into his own bank account $ 68,000 in checks from media organizations traveling with the president during the period between 1988 and 1991. He faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Dale's attorneys conceded that funds had been co-mingled, but stated that Dale had not stolen anything but rather used
39195-618: Was insufficient evidence that these statements were either knowingly false or that she understood that her statements led to the firings. The White House Travel Office, known officially as either the White House Travel and Telegraph Office or the White House Telegraph and Travel Office, dates back to the Andrew Jackson administration and serves to handle travel arrangements for the White House press corps , with costs billed to
39396-528: Was not involved in our... investigation." (Starr also chose this occasion to clear President Clinton in the Filegate matter, and to say he had not committed impeachable wrongdoing in the Whitewater matter; Democrats on the committee immediately criticized Starr for withholding all these findings until after the 1998 Congressional elections .) Starr explicitly did not exonerate Hillary Clinton, however; her case remained unsettled. More time passed. By 2000, she
39597-500: Was provided for low-income families, with Congress (under Clinton's watch) increasing federal support for several critical nutritional and housing support programs. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children went from average annual funding levels of $ 2.7 billion in the eight years before Clinton took office to $ 3.9 billion under his presidency, while the Food Stamp program went from an average of $ 21.3 billion
39798-649: Was that the federal government in effect was subsidizing ranchers, with a few major corporations controlling millions of acres of grazing land. Babbitt and Oklahoma Congressman Mike Synar tried to rally environmentalists and raise fees, but senators from the Western United States successfully blocked their proposals. Although Governor Clinton had a large farm base in Arkansas, as president he sharply cut support for farmers and raised taxes on tobacco. At one high level policy meeting budget expert Alice Rivlin told
39999-740: Was the sudden firing of seven people, false and public threats of a criminal investigation, and the death of one researcher by suicide. The government ultimately paid the victims millions of dollars for lost pay, slander, and other harms, in addition to CA $ 2.41 million spent on the subsequent 2015 investigation into the false charges. Whistleblowers are seen by some as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; others view them as "traitors" or "defectors". Some even accuse them of solely pursuing personal glory and fame, or view their behavior as motivated by greed in qui tam cases. Culturally it still has connotations of betrayal, from 'snitching' at one level to 'denunciations' at
40200-456: Was unprecedented and sparked controversy. Rejecting calls for a single-payer system, she proposed a health care plan based on the extension of employer-based health insurance. Individuals not insured by employers would be insured by the government. The plan would also expand the government's regulatory role in a concept known as "managed competition", with the government setting a minimum level of benefits that each plan could provide. Additionally,
40401-521: Was unsealed and made public on October 18, 2000, three weeks before the Senatorial election. It confirmed that neither Hillary Clinton nor David Watkins would be indicted. It included some new detail, including a somewhat unsubstantiated claim from a friend of Watkins saying that the First Lady had told Watkins to "fire the sons of bitches." Ray cited eight separate conversations between the First Lady and senior staff and concluded: "Mrs. Clinton’s input into
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