On July 8, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) spoke on the Senate Floor about his commitment to supporting whistleblowers, after he faced criticism for how he handled the disclosure of a Department of Justice (DOJ) whistleblower who alleged that judicial nominee Emil Bove had voiced plans to disobey court orders.
“Let me be absolutely clear. I appreciate the whistleblower disclosure being sent to my office,” Grassley said. “My door is open to anyone. But, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to jump at every allegation in a way that some may want this senator to do.”
“Every day, my office receives many whistleblower cases,” Grassley continued. “My investigative staff study them and run down the facts. There are many government employees who need help. And just this year, I’ve had a lot of success with whistleblowers that were discriminated against, investigated against, maybe fired, maybe put on administrative leave – but in most cases, it was all an attempt to hurt them professionally, besides being out of a job.”
Grassley also stressed that in numerous cases, whistleblowers he has supported have been Democrats.
“So, when I read unfounded public broadsides about my operation in that Politico piece I’ve already referred to, let what I said today be a reminder of my dedication to helping the whistleblower community,” Grassley stated.
“And let me also remind everyone that sometimes what I do to protect whistleblowers is non-public, as it should be. And I don’t care about that, all I care about are the results of helping whistleblowers and bringing attention to [what] the whistleblowers say [is] wrong within our government,” Grassley concluded.
Grassley, co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus and the sponsor of a number of critical whistleblower laws, will be speaking at the National Whistleblower Day celebration on Capitol Hill on July 30.
Each year for the past decade, Grassley has helped introduce a Senate resolution designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Day in order to celebrate whistleblowers’ contributions to the United States.
For more information about National Whistleblower Day, including how to attend, visit: https://www.nationalwhistleblowerday.org/