There is a paradox around a phenomenon that is both widely known and systematically denied. The book examines the long and curiously uncharted history of national security whistleblowing. A common feature of the debate is that the individual is painted as a hero or a traitor, which in turn moves the discussion away from the disclosure itself and toward personality. Disclosures of national security information in the public interest dramatically draw back the cloak of secrecy, albeit momentarily, but they trigger an indiscriminate, punitive response by the state. But the fact that it involves state “secrets”―classified but also unclassified information―means it has been considered in a different light. KM:In principle, national security whistleblowing is the same as corporate or state whistleblowing in that it calls attention to wrongdoing. Q: Could you tell us a bit more about whistleblowing in a national security context, specifically? What is unique about it, and what makes it distinct from other forms of whistleblowing? This means that, on the one hand, someone blowing the whistle on insider trading can receive hundreds of thousands of dollars as reward on the other hand, someone blowing the whistle on national security wrongdoing faces years in prison. The former is actively encouraged and offers rewards the latter is not encouraged and furthermore, prosecuted. government to a) disclosures of securities law abuses―those related to the nation’s stocks and options exchanges and b) disclosures of national security wrongdoing. However, this leads to several questions: What constitutes wrongdoing? Who should the indiscretions be reported to? Is the disclosure in the public interest or for an organization? Is the whistleblower entitled to protection? The responses set the terms of the debate in critical ways.įor instance, consider the differing approaches of the U.S. On a very basic level it is about drawing attention to wrongdoing or abuse for the greater good. There is no settled meaning in politics, academia, journalism, the law, or civic society. And that is because one person’s truth-telling whistleblower is another person’s traitorous criminal, and various things in between. Yet while it may not seem to require an introduction, it is fiendishly difficult to define. Kaeten Mistry:“Whistleblowing” is a term that is widely used nowadays and will be familiar to everyone. Q: This is such an important and timely collection-congratulations on the book’s publication! I want to start with a few very introductory questions: First, what is “whistleblowing,” and is the technical meaning of the term widely understood? In this Q&A Kaeten answers questions about the origins and implications of the book. Bringing together contributors from a range of disciplines to consider political, legal, and cultural dimensions, Whistleblowing Nation is a pathbreaking history of national security disclosures and state secrecy from World War I to the present. Disclosures by Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and others have stoked heated public debates about the ethics of exposing institutional secrets. The twenty-first century witnessed a new age of whistleblowing. To report fraud or abuse, individuals may use the statewide hotline number at 86.In Whistleblowing Nation: The History of National Security Disclosures and the Cult of State Secrecy, editors Kaeten Mistry and Hannah Gurman detail the long American tradition of persecuting those who expose state misdeeds. Under Florida’s False Claims Act, people who blow the whistle on Medicaid Fraud are entitled to share in any funds recovered by the state. The Attorney General’s Office welcomes the assistance of citizens in fighting health care fraud. The most common schemes involve doctors, dentists, clinics and other health care providers billing for services never performed, over billing for services provided, or billing for tests, services and products that are medically unnecessary. The MFCU investigates a wide range of misconduct originating primarily from fraudulent billing schemes. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. This award is presented annually to the nation’s top MFCU by the U.S. In 2017, the MFCU was awarded the Inspector General's Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste and Abuse. The MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program, such as nursing homes, facilities for the mentally and physically disabled, and assisted living facilities. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida's taxpayers. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigates and prosecutes fraud involving providers that intentionally defraud the state's Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices.