{
  "id": "R45431",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45431",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 588758,
      "date": "2018-12-13",
      "retrieved": "2018-12-19T14:01:13.583862",
      "title": "Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protections In Brief",
      "summary": "Whistleblowing is \u201cthe act of reporting waste, fraud, abuse and corruption in a lawful manner to those who can correct the wrongdoing.\u201d Intelligence Community (IC) whistleblowers are those employees or contractors working in any of the seventeen elements of the IC who reasonably believe there has been a violation of law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, waste of resources, abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health and safety. The IC has publicly recognized the importance of whistleblowing, and supports protections for whistleblowers who conform to guidelines to protect classified information. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) whistleblowing policy and guidance is publicly available and specifically addresses the process for making protected disclosures and whistleblower protections for IC contractors, members of the Armed Forces, and federal employees. There are differing opinions, however, on whether the IC\u2019s internal processes have the transparency necessary to ensure adequate protections against reprisal, and whether protections for IC contractors are sufficient. \nIC whistleblower protections have evolved in response to perceptions of gaps that many believed left whistleblowers vulnerable to reprisal. The first whistleblower legislation specific to the IC was limited to specifying a process for IC whistleblowers to make a complaint but offered no specific protections. Subsequent legislation included only general provisions for protecting IC whistleblowers with no additional guidance on standards for implementation. Presidential Policy Directive (PPD)-19, signed in 2012, provided the first specific protections against reprisal actions for making a complaint. The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 codified these provisions which were further supported with IC implementation policy. Separate legislation under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, along with DOD implementing guidance, provides protections for members of the Armed Forces, including those assigned to elements of the IC. In early 2018, Congress passed legislation to address perceived gaps in protections for IC contractors.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45431",
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45431",
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      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4809,
          "name": "National & Military Intelligence"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}