Whistleblowers are fundamental to honest government
A few days ago, I was back on the island of Cyprus and had the occasion to visit my former colleagues at the American Embassy. As I went down one familiar hallway, I saw this sign from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State:
"If you suspect wrongdoing, call:"
And there was a number.
And, "If you fear reprisal: Federal employees and employees of contractors, subcontractors and grantees are protected by law from reprisal for reporting wrongdoing to a recipient authorized by law to receive such reports. Contact the Office of Inspector General Whistleblower Ombudsman to learn about your rights."
It is a sign in every embassy and every federal office. If the American people really want government to work and their tax dollars protected from fraud and abuse, they will welcome federal employees who are willing to put their careers on the line to report abuses of authority and procedure.
So, the efforts of some in Congress to "out" the whistleblower who raised an alarm about the Trump Administration's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine strike at the heart of clean and effective government.
Tuesday morning, the GOP's Devin Nunes, of California, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, was at it again, trying to pry out details from witnesses at the impeachment hearing in order to identify the original whistleblower. This should be regarded as an attempt to intimidate.
As one Democratic congressman suggested at the first day of the hearings, if some in Congress want to confront "the person who started all this," he was sure the committee could find a chair for the president.
Violations of the public trust have at their heart a lie. Americans must expect and demand that federal employees spend their tax dollars wisely, use them to advance American policy goals, and to do so - to the extent possible - in a transparent manner.
When the process of government - agreeing to a policy goal, providing the resources, and executing the policy - is perverted for personal or political gain, our only hope is that someone on the outside, either watchdogs like the press or interest groups, or on the inside - a whistleblower - will shine a light on wrongdoing.
Those who speak truth to power need absolute protection and must be completely free from intimidation. So, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's silence in the wake of these attacks against his employees has sent a wave of foreboding through the entire department.
Who will stand up against wrongdoing if their leaders will not have their backs against reprisal? Pompeo's silence is nothing short of cowardly. For a career civil servant to face the prospect of having to engage legal counsel at great personal expense can be enough to render them mute.
Our politics have become so incredibly tribal that even if some people know in their hearts that the president's actions in Ukraine were wrong, they feel compelled to find any twisted logic to defend him and to attack those who have raised alarms about things they view as improper.
The vast majority of us diplomats entered government service to make a difference and to make the world a better place. We always knew we would serve presidents of both parties. When there is wrongdoing, the American people should expect us to speak up, no matter which party is involved.
There are proper channels to report wrongdoing, and in the case of Ukraine, the whistleblower used those channels. When these individuals speak out, the American people should also expect them to be protected, because they speak for all of us.
Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86.