Washington, D.C. – Citing a long history of whistleblowing dating back to shortly after the United States declared its independence in July 1776, Empower Oversight is urging the Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG) to confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Jacob R. Berry may lawfully speak with Congress and ensure that any restrictions placed upon …
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Empower Oversight has filed an opposition brief to the Justice Department’s (DOJ) effort to submit secret arguments to an appeals court without disclosing them to Empower Oversight or the public. DOJ’s move underscores the problem that prompted the litigation in the first place, which seeks to unseal DOJ’s court filings that supposedly …
Washington, D.C. – Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (DHS IG), Joseph Cuffari, to complete its investigation into abuse and political weaponization of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) now-terminated “Quiet Skies” surveillance program. In a letter to Cuffari, Leavitt urged the DHS IG to issue a …
Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt made the following comment after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the Quiet Skies program would be ending. “Since TSA launched Quiet Skies as we know it in 2018, Air Marshals have again and again exposed the abuses of this wasteful program—especially as the Biden Administration took …
WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight is pressing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for additional records about its Federal Air Marshals Service surveillance programs and asking her to bring transparency and accountability to the programs. The organization’s request stems from the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) misuse of its “Quiet Skies” surveillance program, including its targeting of former …
Empower Oversight today submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding potential conflicts of interest in the Department’s administration of the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The hotline, operated since 2007 by Polaris through millions of dollars in federal grants, is currently under renewed scrutiny as …
WASHINGTON – Following whistleblower protected disclosures regarding the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Empower Oversight is pressing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend the contract deadline for applications to operate the hotline. The current contractor, Polaris, is the subject of numerous disconcerting allegations by state attorneys general and a whistleblower revealing deep …
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has denied the federal government’s latest attempt to further delay disclosing its justifications for 5 years of non-disclosure orders (“NDOs” or “gag orders”) following the initial subpoena for activity logs of the personal phone and email accounts of members of Congress …
Today, Hunter Biden voluntarily dismissed his civil lawsuit against the IRS. Without giving IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joseph Ziegler, who were working the investigation at the time, an opportunity to defend themselves, Biden sued the IRS and accused the agents of violating his privacy by making protected whistleblower disclosures about …
Washington, D.C. – Nearly eight years after the Justice Department first spied on members of Congress and staff, Empower Oversight is opposing the federal government’s latest move to keep hiding its supposed justifications for 5 years of non-disclosure orders (NDOs) following the initial subpoena for activity logs of the personal phone and email accounts of …