Senator Boxer, Did You Ever hear of the US Office of Special Council’s Disclosure Unit

It is where Whistle Blower's go for Protection.

The Hill Reports....... Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.


"You call it 'Climategate'; I call it 'E-mail-theft-gate,''said Boxer.

I am guessing that this is pertinent.....
US Office of Special Council’s Disclosure Unit (DU) serves as a safe conduit for the receipt and evaluation of whistleblower disclosures from federal employees, former employees, and applicants for federal employment. 5 U.S.C. § 1213.

DU attorneys review five types of disclosures specified in the statute: violations of a law, rule or regulation; gross mismanagement; a gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; and a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. 5 U.S.C. § 1213(b). The disclosures are evaluated to determine whether or not there is sufficient information to conclude with a substantial likelihood that one of these conditions has been disclosed.

DU evaluates disclosures, which are separate and distinct from complaints of reprisal or retaliation for whistleblowing activities. A reprisal or retaliation claim is reviewed by OSC’s Complaints Examining Unit as a prohibited personnel practice. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(8)(b).

DU processes disclosures differently from other government whistleblower channels in at least three ways: (1) federal law guarantees confidentiality to the whistleblower; (2) the Special Counsel may order an agency head to investigate and report on the disclosure; and (3) after any such investigation, the Special Counsel must send the agency's report, with the whistleblower's comments, to the President and Congressional oversight committees.

As stated above, a whistleblower’s identity will not be revealed without his or her consent. However, in the unusual case where the Special Counsel determines there is an imminent danger to public health or safety or imminent violation of any criminal law, the Special Counsel has the authority to reveal the whistleblower’s identity. 5 U.S.C. § 1213(h).