Republican legislators are demanding clarity on the safeguarding of whistleblowers amid the ongoing probe into the dual assassination attempts on former President Trump.
Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have voiced their apprehensions in a letter addressed to Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to Fox News, the senators' concerns were sparked by whistleblowers' revelations that Secret Service personnel were obliged to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to gain access to briefings on "sensitive reporting" pertinent to their duties in protecting the former President. The letter to Mayorkas included photos of screenshots sent to Secret Service agents, urging them to sign an NDA.
The senators are now urging the DHS to disclose the extent of these NDAs and whether employees were compelled to sign the legally mandated anti-gag language. They referenced the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) in their letter, which stipulates that "no federal agency nondisclosure policy, form, agreement, or related documents may be implemented or enforced if it does not contain specific language notifying the employee of their rights to disclose waste, fraud, abuse, or misconduct to Congress, an Inspector General, or the Office of Special Counsel (OSC)."
In addition to this, Senators Grassley and Johnson are calling on the DHS to provide the threat assessment that justified the issuance of the NDAs. They also want the agency to reveal how this requirement influenced and impacted the protective details of Trump and other government officials.
The senators underscored the necessity for the DHS to be transparent about the rights of whistleblowers. "The importance of whistleblowers knowing their rights under the law cannot be stated enough, and federal agencies should encourage their employees to disclose allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse through all appropriate channels," they declared. "Federal agencies cannot conceal their wrongdoing behind illegal non-disclosure policies and related actions."
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