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Subscribe to RSSThe Food and Drug Administration electronically spied on whistleblowers who alerted the Obama administration and Congress of alleged misconduct in the agency, particularly relating to what they claim was the push to approve unsafe and ineffective medical devices, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
The complaint, filed on behalf of six former and current employees, alleges that the FDA and a number of others violated a host of the plaintiff's rights, including freedom of speech, association and due process; unreasonable search and seizure; and the right to petition Congress. Named as defendants are the FDA and several of its employees, the Surgeon General, the Health and Human Services Secretary, among others.
“The heart of it is an injunction prohibiting the government from targeting whistleblowers or anyone who engages in First Amendment protected speech for surveillance. You know, routine monitoring or monitoring done to everybody on an equal basis is fine, but you can’t select people because of their whistleblowing for this type of instrusive, over-the-top surveillance, which is done without a warrant, without any limitations whatsoever," said Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center and lead attorney on the case.
The FDA said Monday it would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Known originally as the “FDA nine,” the employees -- some still current, other former -- alerted the House and Energy Committee in a letter dated Nov. 17, 2008, that the administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) had “ordered, intimidated, and coerced FDA experts to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation of the law,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
In a second letter to the Obama transition team, dated Jan. 7, 2009, the scientists “raised issues of public concern, including, but not limited to, corruption within the FDA device review process, managerial misconduct, dangers to public health, welfare and safety, and retaliation against whistleblowers,” the lawsuit said.
The FDA then embarked upon a "covert and secret search and seizure operation," including intercepting private communications sent by the plaintiffs to congressional representatives, emails sent from private accounts to other private accounts under "circumstances in which the plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation of privacy," and secretly "installed or activated spyware on all of the government-owned computers, electronic hardware, and networks used by the plaintiffs," the lawsuit alleged.
"This spyware allowed defendants to secretly conduct additional surveillance of the plaintiffs, including ... real-time pictures or 'screen shots' of the computer screens opened by the plaintiffs," the complaint read. "These screen shots enabled defendants to secretly view information on each of the plaintiffs’ computer screens, even if the information was not saved by plaintiffs."
Kohn said the center had learned about the surveillance through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, personnel actions and responses from the Department of Health and Human Services' Inspector General to an unsuccessful request by the FDA to investigate the whistleblowers.
"I have never seen this level of monitoring. I was never even aware that they could go in and to do the Gmail-to-Gmail," he said, noting the FDA could also “figure out who’s giving information … therefore any employee who associates with a whistleblower could find themself the target of a surveillance.”
The plaintiffs had permission to use their government-issued computers for personal purposes, the lawsuit said. Four of the original "FDA nine" chose to pursue the lawsuit.
The number of whistleblowers grew over time, and the FDA, through the alleged spying over two years, learned of the group's strategy to alert the Inspector General, among others.
"These numerous attempts by defendants to have the whistleblowers prosecuted for so-called unauthorized disclosures of confidential or agency information were continuously rejected by appropriate law enforcement officials," the complaint said. "Defendants completely ignored the warnings that the disclosures were authorized and protected by law. Instead, defendants continued to conduct their surveillance activities and continued to try to convince law enforcement agencies to charge one or more of the plaintiffs with a crime."
Eventually, two of the whistleblowers, including one acting as counsel for the group, did not have their contracts renewed by the FDA, creating a "chilling effect on all similarly situated employees/contractors/officers of the defendants," the lawsuit said. Two more of the whistleblowers are no longer with the FDA: one was allegedly fired related to the whistleblowing and another was essentially removed from their post, Kohn said.
The lawsuit highlighted areas that had raised the concerns of the FDA whistleblowers: In the 2009 letter, the group had warned that in the past, "computer-aided detection devices (“CAD”) to be used with breast mammograms were not safe or effective, but the FDA approved the devices anyway in a flawed process that ignored the science" and noted that this "type of behavior had not changed, was ongoing, and that FDA managers were still trying to approve similarly flawed CAD devices."
In another example, a doctor had determined in early 2009 that a CT colonography device was neither safe nor effective for population screening due to a high radiation dose -- thereby raising the risk of induced cancer -- but "FDA managers indicated that they would clear the device anyway," the complaint alleged.
"They’re very upset but they're primarily concerned as physicians to the harm that patients are suffering," Kohn said of the whistleblowers. "They’re looking at ... the dosages of radiation that people get from some of these devices or how some of the devices fail to detect cancers.”
The doctors were being treated like "CIA agents," Kohn added. "They’re acting as if medical information is the same as … classified information on terrorism and it’s not … it’s information that patients need.”
The FDA has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit.
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Is the FDA one of the federal agencies that Rick Perry was going to eliminate? I can't remember..
It was not, but it is sure in need of a fix.
Sounds like some managers in the FDA were being paid off by the device manufacturers to push through approval of their devices even though they did not work and were potentially harmful to patients. Some working level FDA types pushed back and were then targeted because of their efforts to get the truth out about the devices. I guess the higher ups did not want to risk losing the money they were getting from industry for their "help".
@ JS in SD
I'm sure they were just hired as outside 'consultants'.
oh no, Government Employees, LYING to us again to push through inadequately processed programs? IM SHOCKED. The Horror of it all, and I'll bet those memo's made it to O SHAM A's office as well. Whats next, Cats living with Dogs, goats and horses? TAARP? Nibru? Fema?
The "Foolish Deadbeat Agency" is supposed to protect the American consumer against many threats to their health and well being. It seems that the FDA has top managers trained by the CIA or perhaps the old Russian KGB. I would suspect the latter in this case, just from the description of the abuses and their dogged, almost rabid attack on their employees. If found guilty, a slap on the hand will not do. The outright abuse of these employees Constitutional Rights were so blatantly trounced that these Communist like managers need stiff jail terms to not only contemplate their abuses but to send a God Damn message to anyone else willing to do the same.
Send a message Justice Department and Congress.................We're watching this one very closely.
They should eliminate the FDA. They're about as corrupt as any government agency. They are also worthless, since they don't protect or serve the public, only the pharmaceutical industry.
People at the FDA need to go to jail. Go survey that.
If found culpable, they will be promoted, given raises, and moved to another agency, much the same as the culprits in the Fast and Furious debacle about giving guns to the Mexican drug cartels.
Whaaaat? The FDA, et al, are doing this ? Guess we will have to wait and see the outcome.
Shucks, so much for Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign promise to "review" all Federal Agencies. I can hardly wait to hear his 2012 PROMISES !!!
Wait a minute....Mr. Taylor was APPOINTED by Mr. Obama:
Time someone unraveled the Monsanto BIO-TECH mess.
What? my last comment had too much Sarcasm in it, that we had to collapse it? Right.
These are probably the same individuals who allowed for corporate farms to use all of those antibiotics and steroids in our meats and now skin issues are spreading across the country like the flu.
Even the children are affected.
I don't like to see revenge but when you jeopardize the lives of millions for some corporate interest, you have to face consequences.
I rather the individuals understand the magnitude by which they affect other lives.
DEATH PENALTY?????
It should be considered because how many people have been murdered because of their actions????
Amessage needs to be sent that if you jeopardize the lives of millions then you could have yours in jeopardy as well.
Play with fire and get burned!!!
We are pissed at many of the actions of those who work for this government entity over all others.
This agency impacts the very food that we place in our bodies therefore they have an enormous responsibility to protect citizens where this is concerned.
But, they are doing the opposite and breaking privacy laws in the process.
What are the names of these individuals??????
Americans vs. Americans. No Taliban needed to destroy us from the inside out. We will do that ourselves very well thank you. Our Greed, need for Power, Paranoia, etc, etc, all will help us destroy the elusive American Dream.
The FDA was bought and paid for by Monsanto many years ago. At one time the head of Monsanto went from working for the FDA to working for the EPA to working for Monsanto again. If you have ever wondered how Monsanto keeps getting Congress to back it's patenting and poisoning of our food this is how, any FDA employee who dares to come forward is then the target of a CIA type attack. ALL CORPORATE INSIDERS WHO HOLD POSITIONS INSIDE THE FDA AND EPA NEED TO BE PROSECUTED AND IMPRISONED. Monsanto needs to be broken up and all patents on GMO's need to be destroyed. I know this article isnt about Monsanto but I assure you the same higher-ups in the FDA chain of command were involved. We dont just need term limits for Congressmen, we need term limits for everybody who works in government, after four years you move to the private sector, no lifetime appointments and no lifetime employees.
FDA and Agriculture have been totaly corrupted by placement of senior mangement that passed the previous administrations political tests. It is the Republican Party's/Business lobbyist's long term plan to subvert the Selective Service system and insert industry friendly top level managers to NOT enforce regulations. Some parts of Interior and Energy are almost as bad.
Since when do we have the right to break the law and then sue the helio-pants off the accusers?
It is as true for government agencies as it is for the private sector. There is required to be "cause" before warrants for investigations can begin. Yes, judicial warrants to authorize the investigations.
Those being sued are big money: Federal Food and Drug
The folks suing for "being investigated" show in their lawsuit an interesting cluster as to what, apparently, was being investigated... with legal authorization:
Violations of the right to "freedom of speech"? I believe it is established that "Your freedom stops at the end of my nose"... and that includes freedom of speech. Not only does it cover threats, it covers slander, libel, even instructions (which is, of course, speech) for actual harm to another... to name only a few. These are causes to investigate.
Association? If I associate with a gangster for mutual benefit, or anyone to effect harm to another, depending on the degree of harm, is cause to investigate.
Due process? Interesting. Do you suppose that the FDA didn't get a warrant or whatever authorization was required? Doesn't really make sense that they wouldn't. It would be amateur not to.
Unreasonable search and seizure? Another hard to prove if legally warranted.
This is simply a group getting advance publicity... and personally, I think it does them more harm than good. Look at the defendants. In my not so humble opinion, the defendants are so scattered in entities I think this whole silly action is shot to the media to encourage FDA et al to "settle" for money... lots of money.
Frankly, I hope they don't do it. I am sick and tired of these specious lawsuits which are really nothing more than blackmail, or more like extortion. It costs US.. meaning you and me... via our taxes. We may not like general policies of our government (we have the vote)... we may ourselves even know of dishonest employees in government (there is a formal complaint process)...
... but if want we money... $$$$$$$$$ ... we sue 'em.
Those guys can take a flying leap.
I'm not suprised one bit. The government is corrupt and if you say or do anything to bring that to light they will find some way to jail you or ruin you so others get the message it's not ok to tell on them and it's ok if they cheat and steal, just no one else. If Americans knew half the stuff the government did under the cloak of secrecy we'd have all of them in jail. They monitor anyone they want to under the guise of homeland security and ignore the rights of the very people they are supposed to work FOR. They act like they are doing us a favor in robbing us blind. They act like we work for them. Well come election day they will all see who works for whom. Well, unless Obama creates a law that says no matter what we say they can still continue this reign of terror. I often don't understand why we even vote as non of the those in public office seem to care or do anything we want.
annpearson;
President Obama wasn't even in office yet, but than again maybe knowing that he would soon be the new President, they figured finally something would get done about it!
Come election day, it will make no difference who wins. Democrats, Republicans, and independents are all members of the aristocracy. Congress is nothing but a club full of rich men fighting for control of the club. True representation is a thing of the past in America.
Until the majority of the peons get the above line pounded into their head, nothing will change. Having departments that are headed by political appointees instead of the people with real knowledge, almost always ends up turning out bad for the citizens. Putting political appointees and/or bean counters in a critical area like food and drug safety is not only ignorant, it is downright dangerous. Would you let an outside political appointee perform surgery on you? That scenario is close to what having the appointees with little/no experience in that field is like, having your life in their hands.
Time for people to wake up and realize that both parties are nothing more than the flip side of the same coin. When the people join together to fight against the corruption in government from ALL parties, maybe then we will have a chance to change things for the better instead of just keeping the status quo. Time to put real professionals in charge of the departments, not political appointees or bean counters.
To punish the whistleblower who is looking out for the best interest of the citizen and the country, is dishonest and a disservice to the citizens and should be responded to both in court and in the voting booth. Only then will this egregious behavior change.
It sounds as if they blew the whistle during the Bush administration and the "covert and secret search and seizure operation," started under Obama. I doubt that either president was aware of anything going on in the FDA before the letters were sent out.
What is amazing is that there are so many folks here who are surprised about the negative treatment of these and all whistleblowers. This has been ongoing from in the early 2000s.
Regarding the situation at the FDA these whistle blowers are not the first and the problems with still approving questionable medical/pharma products has been an ongoing problem from in the time of the past administration. Back then also it was about pharma and the relationship that some at the management level had with the pharma company whose product was being reviewed etc, if I remember correctly. Wasn't the person that was placed to head the FDA etc was not in the medical or pharma arena, and at that time folks were concerned if I remember correctly because this was some time back in the mid 2000s?
Look at all the drugs for the treatment for arthritis and that sort of pain that were pulled from the market due to the possibility of causing cardiac issues? Remember all the law suits that were going on due to many of these drugs and other cardiac medical devices etc? So now it is medical devices pertaining to scans... wonder what is next?
Makes one wonder if the radiation from those machines used by the tsa are all that safe for real, doesn't it? hmmm
That is the problem with folks calling for smaller govt and to get rid of rules, regulations and especially oversight. This is the sort of thing that will continue to happen, when you do not have enough scientists -govt workers- to do the testing, review and reporting of/on these products. The less staff scientists and inspectors etc then the less likely for these problems to be caught and reported resulting in the harm of the American public.
Read an article recently about generic drug recalls and that it would take about 9 years for inspectors to inspect all the drug manufacturing facilities in places like India, China and around the world that supply drugs to the USA without all the outsourcing that took place to cut manufacturing cost. Another article some time ago was about Puerto Rico and the various drug manufacturing plants that were not upgraded and shut down to move them overseas.
No wonder we have so many lawsuits and we now have so many polititians and their donors who are wanting to limit the payouts from these lawsuits. LOL
No wonder there is so much call for privatization going on.... and the call for removal of rules and regulations etc.....
Self policing does not work period. It is time that people understand that there is need for government and there is also need for a responsible and responsive government of a size that helps and provide safety and security and protection of all the peoples in this country.
It is time to stop demonizing the whistleblowers and applaud them for their courage imo.
""That is the problem with folks calling for smaller govt and to get rid of rules, regulations and especially oversight. This is the sort of thing that will continue to happen, when you do not have enough scientists -govt workers- to do the testing, review and reporting of/on these products. The less staff scientists and inspectors etc then the less likely for these problems to be caught and reported resulting in the harm of the American public.""
BZe1: I disagree. Part of the problem lies in the fact that too many "officials" are likely trying to prove themselves and stomp on each other to climb higher within the system. Politics exists in many levels, as I'm sure you know. Since half of these,(I'm guessing), are political appointments, feeling that they have protection only drives the feeling of infallibility. Less government is better, even at this level.
The rest, I agree with
Skeeter,....The scientists who are contracted to do the review and research etc of these products are not political appointees. These folks are simply employees doing their job of being thorough, some better than others from the look of things. Some workers do bend to pressure from above or go along to get along too. While some will do whatev for promotion.
In these instances it is doubtful that these scientists whistleblowers were looking for promotion, or going along to get along, or bending to pressure from above from the look of what happened to them for doing their job and being thorough. LOL
Less or small govt for less or small govt sake, is just foolish and problems waiting to happen and overlooked imo.
Less/small govt does not make govt any more efficient imo. All less/small govt is -in actuality - is less workers to do the jobs or carry out required tasks including oversight.
Govt like any other business can be bloated, but oftentimes it is bloated in the middle management area. Govt like businesses in the private sector can also suffer from the old nepotism and chronism factor.
Standards can slip at the lower levels when there is too much work and not enough time or workers to get it done. Utilization, Review and research takes time, especially when pouring over data etc. The faster you work is the quicker you are to miss something important. There are some in the management arena who seem to place quantity over quality and not knowing the difference. It is all about cost cutting and saving the dept money. Then when the error ratio upticks they are the very ones to land hard on the employees who they believe that are not doing a thorough enough review etc, although they were the ones pushing for faster and more reviews to be completed to meet some quota or other... crazy.
Perhaps that is what is wanted by some in these instances, that a mere glance is done and the drug/medical device etc is then given the approval. So what if people get hurt, let the populace be the 5th or 6th stage of testing. There are millions of dollars to be made during the time the product is in the marketplace - before it is pulled/recalled anyway.LOL
Plus the end users may either be dead or perhaps having had other health issues a good lawyer may be able to successfully (if questionably) convince a jury that the product was not the cause even if it was. Unfortunately that is the risk some companies are willing to take.... for profit. LOL
One other thing.... the less scientists/researchers and support staff etc there are to do the reviews, researches etc, the longer it takes for a decision to be made, which can be a big problem especially when so much money is on the line.
Utilization and review of products, whether drugs or medical etc devices, is time consuming and the consequences of not doing a thorough utilization and review can result in harm and worse death to the end user which can also prove costly to the company who made the product(s).
One would think or hope that companies would prefer that there are more scientists etc and a timely yet thorough study done rather than a quicky review and a rush to market. It is the waiting for a decision that is the difficult part no doubt, especially when they are not enough scientists etc to get to all the products waiting in the pipeline.
Why people in this country are so against having the size govt to effectively run this country is amazing. Plus too many people want a discount or a 'bargain' (and this applies to govt too)even if the price is already low. LOL
May we have a more effective(ly) and efficiently run govt in 2012 and beyond..... starting with Congress of course.... LOL
Peace.....
Hello Patriot Act!!
I don't think the patriot act had anything to do with this.
Patriot act is unamerican, but that's another issue...
And the recent National Defense Authorization Act is ... proAmerican?
The CIA Echelon program was created to spy on Russia and other perceived enemies of the state. The Patriot act just opened the door to consider our citizens as enemies of the state. Most every agency has or is engaging in activities that should be seen as illegal, the problem is that the same agencies create the laws used to govern themselves. An obvious erosion of our 'freedom', which was always more of an illusion than a reality. We are free to vote for this unqualified idiot or that unqualified idiot, not much of a choice, but you are still free to choose. The FDA is just another program that was a good idea, but corruption has turned it into a joke perpetrated on the public.
First, well said and I agree with your points. These so called federal agencies are getting out hand making & enforcing to many laws & regulations they should never been allowed to in a democratic society. It no longer about for the people by the people, we are being lorded over by too many agencies & special interest group: FDA, EPA, DEA, AFT, Fish & Wild life, BLM and the list goes on & on. We are basically already a Police State is we considered everything we do is mandated by a government or government funded agency.
WTF is this why I pay TAXES? rp2012
Oh yes rp2012 - because the manufacturers will police themselves or consumers won't buy their products.
That concept is either incredibly stupid, stupendously naive, or intentionally false. Pick one of the three - don't try to argue anything else - it is easily demonstrated time after time that manufacturers will pick profit over public safety until they are caught in the act (and it is really hard to catch them in the act when they wilfully destroy evidence, suppress testimony, and tamper with witnesses.
Ron Paul 2012 - Vote for Ron - Because unfettered, unquestioning capitalism is really best - I mean when has a CEO ever chosen to screw someone really?
"rp" (what, you gotta MoneyBomb him to type his full name now?) is for the exact sort of business practices that encourage governments to collude with businesses instead of policing them, lest jobs stop getting created.
November 6, 2012 we can elect a whole new crew. Hopefully a crew that will work with Obama on accomplishing things for America's future.
game kid... you could just put up a sign that says, I've never actually read or listened to Ron Paul, I've just believed what I've been told.
OK you guys, you opened the door. Ron Paul 2012
If you are only able to quip about how voting Paul would cause collusion between big business and government, you haven't noticed what has been happening right in front of your eyes for decades.
Where does it say that he will abdicate laws of protecting the citizens? Don't give me a headline, give me a factual response to your concerns. There are so many levels of redundancy in government, that removing many just might make it easier for the original agency to succeed.
Many reasons for Ron Paul in 2012. But how about just this one, it will prove that the current actions of our government are self centered if the congress does not work with an "outsider". All this flap about needing a president to run the country will be finally revealed as the hoax it has been, at an enormous cost, not only in dollars, but in trust.
America has lost it's trust in government politicians elected as "representatives" of the citizens.
If this is indeed true... BO needs to clean house and open up some nice clean beds for the guilty!
Are you an idiot. Did you look at BO's hired hands, do a Wiki search. He hired every failed Bank CEO and now they are helping him do what they did to the banks, which is kill the US dollar. You BO lovers are truly idiots. But hey he is a good speaker, LOL, that is all I hear from anyone that likes BO. Maybe you should youtube his inauguration speech and all the other speeches so you can count the lies he has told. But why search for the truth when you are so happy with the fiction you are fed.
Please Document this BS!
I fear you are just parroting your faux propaganda...
@ MR2KUHL; WHO is the idiot? I would say it's the person who fails to comprehend what he reads, or intentionally ignores it so that he can rant his lies. From the article:
Known originally as the “FDA nine,” the employees -- some still current, other former -- alerted the House and Energy Committee in a letter dated Nov. 17, 2008, that the administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) had “ordered, intimidated, and coerced FDA experts to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation of the law,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
In a second letter to the Obama transition team, dated Jan. 7, 2009, the scientists “raised issues of public concern, including, but not limited to, corruption within the FDA device review process, managerial misconduct, dangers to public health, welfare and safety, and retaliation against whistleblowers,” the lawsuit said.
Pay attention to the dates...your buddy Bush was still president when these allegations were first made, and Obama was STILL not in office yet when they sent the second letter to his transition team. I'm sure you can find plenty to blame Obama for, I'm just offended by people who have to LIE to do it.
Yeah..."why search for the truth?" indeed!
Guantanamo
steel toed boot - It appears you are the one that needs to pay attention to dates or stop selectively editing the article. You quoted two paragraphs, but ignored the next paragraph that explains when the illegal electronic spying happened. Yes, the whitleblowing happened under Bush. The eletronic spying happened under Obama. Read the paragraph following the two you quoted...
"The FDA then embarked upon a "covert and secret search and seizure operation," including intercepting private communications sent by the plaintiffs to congressional representatives, emails sent from private accounts to other private accounts under "circumstances in which the plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation of privacy," and secretly "installed or activated spyware on all of the government-owned computers, electronic hardware, and networks used by the plaintiffs," the lawsuit alleged."
See? The electronic spying was begun AFTER the second letter and continues now.
Yeah..."why search for the truth? indeed" indeed!
Sapp; whose FDA do you suppose it was before Obama could install his own people? In other words, in case you don't understand the question, under whose administration were these senior FDA executives (responsible for the spying) hired? And where did it say that this is continuing NOW? I'd find that HARD to believe now that it is in the courts and public, even if the article or the lawyers DID say that.
Yeah, why search for the truth when you won't understand it when you find it!
Better yet, force feed them the poisons that they produce, water that they contaminate, breathe in the smog that they create, and use the devices and machines that they produce. THAT is JUSTICE. Anything less is pure INJUSTICE.
Can't wait for the corruption story to hit! Someone must have been taking a lot of money from medical device providers to go to these extremes.
JRAbbott, there is a lot of money being passed in one form or another.
Regarding the extremes being played, this also happens at your local level, in the name of politics alone. It is an ugly form of democracy, that the people still don't see, because, "I don't want to know".
Sad but true.
The FDA is a poorly run institution. Of course they did not want anyone to know about all the graft and corruption, the high up appointees don't want to back out of the trough that they gorge in.
Wow, just wow. It is amazing that the FDA has power to do this type of "spying". Center for Devices and Radiological Health must have some huge lobbyists behind it. Lobbying needs to be made illegal. For a Lobbyist to give money to a government association or employee should be considered blackmail or even conspiracy against the government. Lobbyists should be hung.
The FDA has no right to monitor their employees. This an agency that is out of control. The employees have the constitutional right as an citizen. Too much power and no controls.
The FDA has far more power than you will ever know. I know because I dealt with them over a healing device they buried. For no reason, other than they can.
I'm surprised the suit was filed. I thought the federal government could not be sued unless it allowed itself to be sued. Not fair or right, but the law...
Especially if eric holder has his way!!
They wish that the could not be sued. The fact is that it is the only means that a citizen has to protect itself from the government. Another case of no checks and balance. This type of tyranny is what lead to the revolution.
The only way to stop corruption like this is to name names. who are the managers who are bought off by the pharma and device companies? what are the names of the appointees who push this garbage through? this is why we need wikileaks or something like it, without the mealy-mouthed self-censorship. NAME NAMES, and the corruption will get immeasurably harder to perpetrate.
Really? I'm SHOCKED there is corruption in a Govt agency which governs anything that Corporate America wants/needs to sell its wares to the public. Shocked I say... (not really)
I am a firm believer that anyone who works for the Govt in any capacity should not be allowed to have a net worth higher than their positions pay would allow. I mean, if person "A" is worth say $100K net when they get the job and it pays a wage of $150K/year, would it not be suspicious that 3 years into the position "A" is now worth $7.6 million?
I would think maybe they were doing something wrong myself. After all, if "A" were not taking bribes or doing insider trading, then how did "A" get so much money on "A"'s salary? Selling dope on the side? Babysitting? Help me out here.
I completely agree, but say we need to go a step further, that any elected official is banned from ever making more than his public office salary at the time of his swearing in (adjusted annually for inflation obviously, and in the form a 100% tax on all types of earnings above it). Oh you don't like that Mr. Romney and Mrs. Pelosi, then don't run for public office. Make it the law. We need to put normal well-adjusted Americans back into those positions, not the megalomaniacs that currently flock to them for the money and power. They would think twice about running if we took away the possibility of them not being able to win the imaginary game of Monopoly they are playing in their head.
"It's not fair, my wife would either have to quit her $500,000 job or divorce me for me to run." So, don't run. It sounds like public office isn't for you or her then.
We need more school teachers and fire chiefs, and less lawyers and career politicians.
Being a politician shouldn't be your job, it should be your duty, and it definitely should not be a way to make money.
And we talk the people in Mexico being on the take!!! guess what?
The US gov is just as corrupt as any other, they have learned through the years what closet to hide it in!!
I don't know the facts of this case, but i can attest to the problems inherent in the whole whistleblower scheme. It's been around for awhile and the abuses are outrageous! We borrowed the idea from the Brits and they got so fed up with the mess it created that they dropped it from all their laws several years ago. Here in the US, we just keep doubling down on whistleblower statutes. Private industry is well aware of the problems but nobody wants to listen, so maybe now that it's starting to turn back on the government, legislators like Sen. Grassley, will finally take notice. Letting contingent fee private counsel sue on behalf of the government will never lead to a good result, especially when they are suing the governement itself.
"You know, routine monitoring or monitoring done to everybody on an equal basis is fine, but you can’t select people because of their whistleblowing"
NO, routine monitoring of everyone is not fine!!! Its is Unconstitutional.....that was until The Patriot Act. I swear, the government does not need to know how many times I take a dump each day, they just dont. When the hell are people going to stand up and say enough of this horse kaka.
So the FDA is making up stuff on dangerous medical devices due to Radiation levels over the safe limit!
These are the same people who claim that the new Airport Full Body scanners are safe, This should scare everyone who travels by air. If they lied about one device then they most likely lied about this too.
Wait a couple years and the truth will come out!!
Every branch of the federal goverment is corrupt to some extent.Thats what happens when the goverment is for sale.
Can't blame the FDA,, That's like blaming a title ---- Blame those under it's umbrella
As a former government employee I'd say this is just the "Good Old Boys Club" typical of civil service supervisors engaging in payback ---- Look for deeper problems with those, they are what is wrong about government waste & other problems in civil service
The FDA sucks. They should stop them in there tracks. They are not doing there job. Scrap there department. If companies cheat the consumers, Then put the companies out of business and behind bars.
Joe,,, If you suck, do you blame your name?
Blame some of those under the FDA's umbrella. The FDA does far more good for America & our Families than harm
Break it down dude & stop listening to empty right wing rhetoric.... What part of the FDA don't you like?
If you need a reason to question the entire FDA, go watch Burzynski, the movie. This doctor has a very effective treatment for cancer but the FDA quashed approval of distribution for years until they finally stole his patent. They'll only allow it through major Pharma because they get major kickbacks from the pill mafia. Why this story doesn't get more press I'll never know. It's on Netflix if that helps.
Also, the FDA is an illegal government agency to begin with being that the constitution does not specifically grant the federal govt this power (overseeing food and drugs) and does not specifically deny the states this power...consequently, this ought to be an authority granted to the states.
Excellent. The problem is that Obama and Congress work for the 1% that are getting rich on it. If not, they would have procecuted the whole top management for stealing taxpayers money by not representing them. Isn't FDA supposed to protect the public ? I hope they win big in the lawsuit and the managment goes to jail-they are criminals , felons.
I think this is more like bosses spying on their workers and getting payback
The "Good Old Boys Club" of corrupt government supervisors & managers. Stop that problem & you will eliminate a hell of a lot of government waste
Joe-3496279, Do you really think this started with Obama? Hello. Is anybody out there?
Very Orwellian
Welcome to the Police States of America, I am afraid our government is the real terrorist.They pose more of a threat to our rights and way of life then any "Terrorist" organization. I believe people in our government are responsible for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in order to scare us into giving up our rights for a sense of false protection, only protection we need is from our way to big and corrupt government. I think most politicians should be tried for treason for they are guilty of it.
The FDA Nine - Way to go!
The FDA Nine - Way to go!
Ron Paul 2012 - get the government OUT of our lives.....
The federal government is intensely corrupt. True criminals all around.
Obama fits right into that picture perfectly. All you have to do is look at all the other things that has happen since he has been on office. Eric Holder ring any bells??
Republicans are SO much more corrupt than Obama could even Dream! Nixon, Reagan, Bush. All corrupt sleazeballs.