[W]ASHINGTON — In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Session this week, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, say they are concerned that the Department of Justice has been slow to implement reforms to protect whistleblowers in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Leahy, the longest serving member of the committee, wrote that the department has not yet corrected several issues identified in a 2014 internal review.
“While the Department has taken initial steps to improve the timelines and effectiveness of its whistleblower program, it has failed to implement most of its own recommendations,” Grassley and Leahy wrote.
The two senators asked the department for information about recommendations that haven’t been implemented yet that would give whistleblowers more information as they proceed with their cases.
The senators also requested information from the DOJ about whether steps that have already been taken have improved the program. The department previously added staff to process whistleblower claims and set up a voluntary mediation program.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed that the senators’ letter had been received and was under review. The department declined to comment further to questions about future plans concerning whistleblower protections, or about a response to the letter.
