Latest news with #whistleblower
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent
More than 140 employees of the National Science Foundation have signed a letter denouncing what they described as efforts to undermine one of the country's main science funding agencies. They accused the Trump administration of abruptly firing workers, withholding funds and decimating the agency's budget. Out of fear of retaliation, all but one of the employees' signatures are redacted. The letter, addressed on Monday to Representative Zoe Lofgren, the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, petitioned it to defend the mission of the N.S.F. and its employees. The N.S.F. declined to comment on the letter. The formal protest by N.S.F. employees followed similar ones made last month by workers from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, who criticized orders that they saw as unlawful and accused the administration of endangering public health. The E.P.A. suspended 144 of the signatories a few days after the letter was sent, a step that has been described by some as retaliation. In a news conference on Tuesday, Representative Lofgren said the letter was submitted to her office as a whistle-blower complaint. In a statement thanking the signers, she added: 'I promise to do all I can to protect you, protect your agency, and protect our scientific enterprise.' Hundreds of NASA employees issued their own letter of formal dissent on Monday. Addressing the secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, the letter warned the agency's leadership that major budget cuts would harm science missions. President Trump appointed Mr. Duffy as interim NASA administrator this month. All the N.S.F. employees in the letter that was released publicly signed anonymously, except for Dr. Jesus Soriano, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, the union representing the N.S.F. Nearly 50 of the signatories included their names in the private letter. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Free Malaysia Today
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ombudsman Malaysia to replace whistleblower committee
Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said whistleblowers' identities could be protected if disclosures on misconduct were made through the proper channels. KUALA LUMPUR : The government will replace the current whistleblower protection committee with the soon-to-be-established Ombudsman Malaysia, which will have wider powers and clearer reporting mechanisms, the Dewan Rakyat was told. Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said the current committee was merely a stop-gap measure. 'It is temporary until Ombudsman Malaysia is set up,' he said in winding-up the debate on the Whistleblower Protection (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today. Earlier today, opposition and government MPs called for better amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, warning that the current draft lacked teeth and could enable political interference. Some MPs had also questioned the appointment of the members to this committee. Kulasegaran said Ombudsman Malaysia would take over the role of the committee with additional powers, including receiving complaints from whistleblowers involving misconduct. 'SOPs including timelines and relevant aspects will be detailed during the setting up of Ombudsman Malaysia.' Kulasegaran added that the main objective of the Whistleblower Protection Act remained unchanged – which was to protect whistleblowers. But he said protection could only be granted if the disclosure was made to an enforcement agency, as stipulated in the Act. 'If the information is not channelled to an enforcement agency, the individual will not be classified as a whistleblower.' Kulasegaran stressed that the government was confident whistleblowers' identities could be protected if disclosures were made through the proper channels. 'However, if the disclosure is made to the media or the public, it will be difficult to offer protection. The information may be widely shared.' He further said the government was looking at ways to improve the reporting mechanisms, including allowing disclosures to parties other than enforcement agencies to encourage more people to come forward. The bill was later passed by the Dewan Rakyat.
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Former N.Y.P.D. Commissioner Says He Will Sue Eric Adams for Defamation
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City and a former top aide are facing a defamation suit for publicly questioning the mental acuity of Mr. Adams's former interim police commissioner, Thomas G. Donlon. Mr. Adams and the former aide, Tarik Sheppard, made the comments after Mr. Donlon had accused the mayor and Mr. Sheppard of running City Hall and the Police Department like a criminal enterprise. Mr. Donlon's notice of claim, which was filed Monday with the office of the New York City comptroller, said the disparaging comments 'are targeted smears designed to destroy a whistle-blower's reputation and silence the truth.' The acrimonious back and forth between the mayor and his former interim police commissioner comes as Mr. Adams embarks upon a long-shot re-election campaign partly predicated on the notion that he, a retired police captain, deserves the mayoralty because his management of the Police Department has lowered crime. Mr. Donlon threatens to undermine that narrative with a federal lawsuit accusing the mayor of seeding the Police Department with corruption. He is one of five former top police officials who have accused the mayor of wrongdoing in recent weeks. Mr. Sheppard, a close ally of the mayor who until recently served as the Police Department's chief spokesman, was singled out in Mr. Donlon's original lawsuit as having engaged in significant wrongdoing. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ex-NYPD commissioner accuses NYC mayor of 'character assassination' in $10 million defamation claim
New York City's former interim police commissioner has filed a $10 million defamation claim against Mayor Eric Adams for reportedly suggesting he was mentally unfit for the job of top cop. The filing comes less than a week after the ex-commissioner, Thomas Donlon, sued Adams and his top deputies, accusing them of operating the department as a criminal racket that rewarded unqualified loyalists and punished whistleblowers. Donlon said he was sidelined for trying to clean up the corruption. After that lawsuit was filed, Adams privately told members of a nonprofit business advocacy group at a meeting that he'd fired Donlon, 71, from his brief stint as commissioner last fall because he was rapidly deteriorating mentally, according to attendees. Donlon cited news reports about those comments in his legal claim. The department's former top spokesperson, Tarik Sheppard, who was also named in Donlon's lawsuit, told reporters that his former boss was 'going through some cognitive issues and believed there was this conspiracy against him.' 'Their comments amounted to a defamatory public character assassination intended to weaponize mental health to silence a whistleblower,' Donlon's attorney, John Scola, said Monday. Donlon, a former FBI official, was appointed by Adams in September to lead a department reeling from overlapping federal investigations and high-level resignations. He was replaced by the current commissioner, Jessica Tisch, in November. During his short tenure, federal authorities searched Donlon's home for decades-old documents that he said were unrelated to his work at the department. He has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing in connection with that search. In his short time as commissioner, Donlon said he uncovered systemic corruption by members of the mayor's inner circle, including a scheme to reward unqualified loyalists with lucrative promotions in exchange for political favors. In his lawsuit, Donlon accused Sheppard of misappropriating the commissioner's rubber stamp signature to give himself a raise, then threatening to kill Donlon when confronted about it. Sheppard, who left the department in May, has denied that allegation. Inquiries to City Hall about the defamation claim were not immediately returned. In a statement last week, a spokesperson for Adams, Kayla Mamelak Altus, described Donlon's claims as 'absurd.' 'These are baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who – when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world – proved himself to be ineffective,' she said. The defamation claim adds to a recent spate of litigation brought by police officials against Adams, focusing scrutiny on his leadership as he seeks re-election on a platform emphasizing managerial competence and public safety. Earlier this month, four high-ranking former NYPD officials brought separate lawsuits accusing Adams and his deputies of allowing rampant corruption and cronyism within the police department. In response to those suits, a spokesperson for Adams said the administration holds all city employees – including leadership at the NYPD – to the highest standards.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-NYPD commissioner accuses NYC mayor of 'character assassination' in $10 million defamation claim
New York City's former interim police commissioner has filed a $10 million defamation claim against Mayor Eric Adams for reportedly suggesting he was mentally unfit for the job of top cop. The filing comes less than a week after the ex-commissioner, Thomas Donlon, sued Adams and his top deputies, accusing them of operating the department as a criminal racket that rewarded unqualified loyalists and punished whistleblowers. Donlon said he was sidelined for trying to clean up the corruption. After that lawsuit was filed, Adams privately told members of a nonprofit business advocacy group at a meeting that he'd fired Donlon, 71, from his brief stint as commissioner last fall because he was 'rapidly deteriorating mentally," according to attendees. Donlon cited news reports about those comments in his legal claim. The department's former top spokesperson, Tarik Sheppard, who was also named in Donlon's lawsuit, told reporters that his former boss was 'going through some cognitive issues' and believed 'there was this conspiracy against him.' Their comments amounted to a defamatory 'public character assassination" intended to "weaponize mental health to silence a whistleblower,' Donlon's attorney, John Scola, said Monday. Donlon, a former FBI official, was appointed by Adams in September to lead a department reeling from overlapping federal investigations and high-level resignations. He was replaced by the current commissioner, Jessica Tisch, in November. During his short tenure, federal authorities searched Donlon's home for decades-old documents that he said were unrelated to his work at the department. He has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing in connection with that search. In his short time as commissioner, Donlon said he uncovered 'systemic corruption' by members of the mayor's inner circle, including a scheme to reward unqualified loyalists with lucrative promotions in exchange for political favors. In his lawsuit, Donlon accused Sheppard of misappropriating the commissioner's rubber stamp signature to give himself a raise, then threatening to kill Donlon when confronted about it. Sheppard, who left the department in May, has denied that allegation. Inquiries to City Hall about the defamation claim were not immediately returned. In a statement last week, a spokesperson for Adams, Kayla Mamelak Altus, described Donlon's claims as 'absurd.' 'These are baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who — when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world — proved himself to be ineffective,' she said. The defamation claim adds to a recent spate of litigation brought by police officals against Adams, focusing scrutiny on his leadership as he seeks re-election on a platform emphasizing managerial competence and public safety. Earlier this month, four high-ranking former NYPD officials brought separate lawsuits accusing Adams and his deputies of allowing rampant corruption and cronyism within the police department. In response to those suits, a spokesperson for Adams said the administration 'holds all city employees — including leadership at the NYPD — to the highest standards.'
