There is a lot of misinformation out there about what makes someone a #whistleblower - specifically in the intelligence community (not sure why, just kidding yes I do). I'm hoping to clear some of that up. A thread:
Importantly, the word whistleblower has two meanings and it's good to be clear about which one you're using. One is a legal definition, rooted in the various statutes Congress has passed, and the other is a broader definition. In this thread, I'm using the legal definition.
A whistleblower 1. makes a disclosure to specific individuals and 2. has a reasonable belief that the disclosure shows a violation of law, rule, or regulation OR mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
To the first point, an intelligence community whistleblower can go to the @ODNIgov, the Inspector General of the IC, the head of their agency, their agency's inspector general, a congressional intelligence committee or any member of a congressional intelligence committee.
Side note, this is why it makes zero sense for Republican Members of Congress to act as if the whistleblower did something wrong by talking to the House Intelligence Committee. My take is they're attempting to capitalize on a lack of public understanding of whistleblower laws.
A whistleblower in the intelligence community (& other areas of government) is not required by law to have first hand knowledge about what they're blowing the whistle on, nor was first hand knowledge ever required. This is to increase the likelihood that wrongdoing is reported.
Congress has explicitly stated that having a partisan motive for blowing the whistle does not factor in to whether the disclosure is legitimate. This is because the important part is not why they're blowing the whistle, but what are they blowing the whistle about.
If you want more on that last point in the context of the IC whistleblower whose complaint has led to the impeachment inquiry, I wrote this for @POGOBlog last week: pogo.org/analysis/2019/…
If you're a federal employee trying to understand the legal landscape for blowing the whistle, @POGOBlog @PEERorg and @GovAcctProj released a book on the subject earlier this year and we turned it in to an 8 week e-course, you can sign up here: pogo.org/federal-employ…
