punishing the whistleblower
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington) leaked an illegally recorded phone call (given to him by Florida couple John and Alice Martin who taped it from a police scanner) to reporters 10 years ago. The call was between Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republican leaders discussing the ethics investigation of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Boehner subsequently sued McDermott, who was found liable for civil damages and attorney fees by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. McDermott appealed, and yesterday it was reported that the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.
This is another instance of shooting the bearer of bad news. The conversation was between elected public officials discussing government business. McDermott considered the newsworthiness of the taped call important to informing the public about the conduct of elected officials. He claimed it was free speech and offered it in the spirit of whistleblowers attempting to inform citizens of wrongdoing.
And so he will be punished, to the tune of several hunderd thousand dollars.