Issa Accuses White House of Retaliating Against Whistleblower

Murrieta’s congressman accused the Obama administration of demoting a whistleblower in retaliation.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., alleged the White House’s action against Catherine Papoi was because she secretly complained somebody was trying to stop journalists and watchdog groups from getting public records, he said in an emailed press statement.

Papoi complained to the inspector general that political appointees were interfering with Freedom of Information Act requests. Papoi was a former deputy unit chief in charge of the Freedom of Information Act, he said in the statement.

Issa’s claim was “rife with inaccuracies and distorts the facts,” Amy Kudwa, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, told the Associated Press.

Papoi was not demoted because she still makes the same amount of money and benefits. She only changed titles, and someone else took her old position, Kudwa told the news agency.

One of the first steps Issa took as the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to investigate the failure to answer some Freedom of Information Act requests.

Issa’s committee could find no legitimate reason for Papoi’s demotion, he wrote in a letter to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security.

“To date, the Committee has interviewed six witnesses and reviewed more than 3,000 pages of documents produced by the Department,” Issa wrote in the letter. “We have found no evidence that would support a reduced role for Ms. Papoi in the Department’s FOIA function.”

Demoting a government employee to keep her quiet is illegal, he warned in the letter. “Denying or interfering with employees’ rights to furnish information to Congress is against the law,” the letter stated. “Federal officials who retaliate against or otherwise interfere with employees who exercise their right to furnish information to Congress are not entitled to have their salaries paid by taxpayer dollars.”