How to Survive Whistleblower Retaliation - Thoughts On Being Hung Out to Dry as an Informant
By Zachary Ellison. Twitter @ZacharyObama. Photo of Black and White Flags from the Whistleblower Justice Network.
Published May 12, 2023
The definition of a whistleblower according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is the following: “one who reveals something covert or who informs against another” and most “especially : an employee who brings wrongdoing by an employer or by other employees to the attention of a government or law enforcement agency.” Bringing information intentionally to the sights of a law enforcement agency inevitably brings on the notion of an informant, and in the American judicial system there are essentially two types of informant, a citizen-informant, and a confidential-informant, and the distinction here is essentially the degree of directiveness.
According to the Department of Justice Confidential Informant Guidelines: “a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a Justice Law Enforcement Agency (JLEA) regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the JLEA expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future.” This is different than a “cooperating witness” pursuant to legal proceedings and from the notion of an “asset” who is engaged in international intelligence work or counter-terrorism. Now a citizen-informant is different in that they approach law enforcement on their own recognizance out of a desire versus a “good citizenship as distinguished from one seeking some gain (as payment or concessions from police),” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It would be mistaken to assume though that all informants are being compensated. In fact, there’s little incentive for this behavior.
https://zacharyellison.substack.com/p/part-23-how-to-survive-whistleblower
Happy Friday Democratic Underground! Sharing this story as these issues are still totally the talk of Los Angeles. From the LA Fed scandal to the release of LAPD's undercover operator photos, we've been subsumed by these issues that continue to dominate headlines on the West Coast and nationally. So a bit of an overview, and some of my story as well. Appreciate all your support DU!
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