Last Thursday (February 27), The Hill published an OpEd piece by Constantine Cannon whistleblower lawyer Gordon Schnell on how President Trump may be clearing a path for whistleblowers.  Schnell offered three reasons why an unintended consequence of President Trump’s efforts to dramatically cut federal agency staff and resources may be to create an opening for whistleblowers to step into the void.

First, Schnell points to the strong bipartisan support that has long existed for whistleblowers, starting with the False Claims Act (enacted during the Civil War), and continuing more recently with Congress passing numerous other statutes to encourage whistleblowers to help the government police fraud and misconduct.  These include whistleblower programs for the SEC (securities fraud), CFTC (commodities fraud), IRS (tax fraud), NHTSA (auto safety), and FinCEN (money laundering and sanctions violations).  Schnell argues, “The broad recognition of the vital role of whistleblowers, and the need for them to provide a regulatory assist, will only deepen with the agency purge the administration is pursuing.”

Second, Schnell believes Trump has specifically “presaged a prominent place for whistleblowers in his current political playbook.”  Schnell highlights Trump’s recent executive order going after DEI which specifically references using the False Claims Act to keep companies in line.  Schnell further notes the broad success of the False Claims Act program during Trump’s first term (with $12 billion in total recoveries and $1.6 billion in whistleblower awards) and how Trump’s new AG Pam Bondi specifically affirmed her support for the program during her recent confirmation hearings.

Third, Schnell looks to what he describes as the “driving force” of Trump’s “political persona,” which is “to stand up for what Trump sees as the truth against a rigged status quo.”  Schnell believes that while we may vigorously disagree with that truth, Trump’s battle against the so-called “deep state” aligns with the whistleblower mindset of standing strong in the face of fraud and wrongdoing.  According to Schnell, this “fight-the-system messaging” may encourage more whistleblowers to come forward, maybe even some of Trump’s colleagues and confidents who are helping him carry out his current vision of government.

As Schnell sees it, “While Trump is trying to tear down the institutions designed to check his unprecedented executive overreach, he may be easing the way for whistleblowers to step into the void.”  Schnell concludes that the ultimate irony in all this, is that “in clearing the path for whistleblowers, Trump may be inviting the undoing of his own grand plans by emboldening those in the room to stand up and get in the way.”

Click here to read the full article.

If you have information relating to potential fraud and misconduct or would like to learn more about what it means to be a whistleblower, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We will connect you with a member of our whistleblower team for a free and confidential consultation.

Read Constantine Cannon Partner Gordon Schnell Featured in The Hill on How Trump May Be Clearing a Path for Whistleblowers at constantinecannon.com