After a federal court blocked President Trump’s firing of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, the administration is appealing to the Supreme Court. On February 15, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled to not overturn a district court decision which found that the Trump administration violated the law in firing Dellinger without cause and temporarily ordered Dellinger to remain as Special Counsel. The administration swiftly turned to the Supreme Court, arguing that the law and court rulings violate the President’s constitutionally-granted removal powers.
As the head of Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Dellinger oversees the agency responsible for protecting federal employee whistleblowers and investigating their concerns. He was terminated by the White House late on February 7 and then sued to stop the firing, arguing that under the law, the Special Counsel “may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” In its brief email alerting Dellinger to his firing, the White House did not cite any of these issues.
“The future of federal employee whistleblowing hangs in the balance,” says Stephen M. Kohn, Chairman of the Board of National Whistleblower Center. “If the Special Counsel is not independent, that office will become a trap and the confidentiality of whistleblowers will not be protected.”
“This is not a partisan issue,” Kohn added. “It is simply an issue of whether federal employees can report waste fraud and abuse.”
National Whistleblower Center has launched an emergency campaign in response to the
wrongful termination of Special Counsel Dellinger. They are urging supporters to join them and to contact their Representatives and Senators immediately and express their concern on the issue.
