District Court Ruling Affirms Independence of Key Whistleblower Office

Media Contacts: Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight, [email protected]; or Caitlin MacNeal, Communications Director at POGO, [email protected]

We are thrilled a federal judge ruled today that it was illegal for President Donald Trump to remove Hampton Dellinger as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, a federal government office that addresses claims of retaliation against whistleblowers.

It is crucial that the Office of Special Counsel operate with sufficient independence to protect federal workers. Ensuring the leader of OSC can only be fired for wrongdoing or poor performance is critical to that independence. If the president can fire the head of this office for any reason, it could deter the office from issuing findings a president may not agree with.

We are glad that Special Counsel Dellinger can continue his crucial work protecting whistleblowers from retaliation and ensuring federal workers have a safe place to disclose corruption and abuse of power.

“The Office of Special Counsel is an important pillar of accountability for the executive branch. This ruling ensures the agency will have a leader who is dedicated to protecting whistleblowers and federal workers without fear of being fired for doing their job,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight. “The independence of this office is crucial to the federal whistleblower community and to the entire civil service, and I hope the courts continue to recognize the importance of this position’s for-cause removal protections.”