a fan wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:18 pm
Barrett is a journalist, not a lawyer. At no point does the WB say what he's claiming. The Dept. of Justice isn't even mentioned in the law.
What Barrett is saying is: you can't blow the whistle on a President, not without the Justice Dept guys---who the POTUS appointed---allowing them to do so. Which is obviously just stupid.
The one thing this whole Trump guy has shown is, is just how many problems we have with how our laws are written. They're designed to protect our leaders and their secrets, rather than protect the people they serve.
Scary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellige ... ection_Act
The Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998,[1] amending the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 and the Inspector General Act of 1978, sets forth a procedure for employees and contractors of specified federal intelligence agencies to report complaints or information to Congress about serious problems involving intelligence activities.
Under the ICWPA, an intelligence employee or contractor who intends to report to Congress a complaint or information of "urgent concern" involving an intelligence activity may report the complaint or information to their agency’s inspector general or the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG). Within a 14-day period, the IG must determine "whether the complaint or information appears credible," and upon finding the information to be credible, thereafter transfer the information to the head of the agency. The law then requires the DNI (or the relevant agency head) to forward the complaint to the congressional intelligence committees, along with any comments he wishes to make about the complaint, within seven days. If the IG does not deem the complaint or information to be credible or does not transmit the information to the head of the agency, the employee may provide the information directly to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. However, the employee must first inform the IG of his or her intention to contact the intelligence committees directly and must follow the procedures specified in the Act.
I've also heard it reported that the WB is not currently an employee or contractor of one of the intel agencies covered by the ICWPA, (or possibly, was not acting in that capacity, having just learned of it via hearsay), thus no 7 day reporting period to Congress.
Scary ? It's not like the complaint was buried. The ODNI referred it to DoJ, where It was investigated by DoJ criminal prosecutors.
If the WB is not satisfied with the ODNI's resolution, they can take it directly to one of the Congressional intel committees.
The WB's ID has still not been unmasked.
The Acting DNI will explain it tomorrow.