September 8, 2018
As mentioned in previous letters, Ms. Wharton stated to me both verbally and through email that I would be able to access copies of my Whistleblower tips in advance of filing a claim for an award. However, despite my repeated requests neither Ms. Wharton or the Whistleblower office has responded to my requests.
Indeed, on multiple occasions the OWB stated that it can not provide me with any documents and that I should request the documents via the FOIA/PA processes. However, this process is inadequate to and causes significant and irreparable damage to my due process and Whistleblower rights, among other things, the lack of communication by the OWB and refusal to provide my tips causes:
An unreasonable and inappropriate delay in obtaining the information needed to file an efficient and effective Whistleblower claim. Indeed, currently the SECs FOIA/PA office is aggregating all of my requests for information into one request that is likely to take 3-5 years before it even begins to be processed. I was told by the SECs OWB that I would be provided these documents directly from the OWB upon request but now I will have to wait years before I get the information necessary and as a result I will be forced to exercise my appeal rights to obtain more information from the OWB, in the middle of the Whistleblower Claims process - which will cause significant and unnecessary work for the OWB compared to an alternative where I was provided the documents as promised. Not only does this impact my right but as conceded by the SEC it will impact the processing time for other Whistleblowers waiting for awards because the appeal process will delay the payment of any Whistleblower awards for a certain covered action.