美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Whistleblowing Is Really In Our DNA': A History Of Reporting Wrongdoing

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

OK. Now to political turmoil¹ in this country. House Democrats² are starting an impeachment³ inquiry⁴ into the president. This all started with a whistleblower, an unidentified person inside the national security community. Whistleblowing has a long history in this country, and NPR's Brian Naylor looked into it and brought us this.

BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE⁵: Whistleblowers date back to the nation's earliest days. Allison Stanger, a professor at Middlebury College, has just written a book called "Whistleblowers."

ALLISON STANGER: Americans passed the world's first whistleblower protection law in 1787. So we're a leader in this realm, and whistleblowing is really in our DNA⁶. So that's why this particular moment is so interesting.

NAYLOR: Stanger says the first whistleblowers reported on the actions of one Esek Hopkins in the late 1780s.

STANGER: He was the first commodore of the U.S. Navy, and they blew the whistle on him ostensibly for torturing British prisoners of war. He was removed from his post. He tried to retaliate⁷ against the whistleblowers, who were thrown in jail, and then Congress intervened to protect the whistleblower.

NAYLOR: Whistleblowers have been reporting wrongdoing in government institutions ever since, but it's always been risky⁸.

DAVID COLAPINTO: Whistleblowing is a career-limiting phenomenon in the federal workforce⁹. That's why a lot of people don't do it.

NAYLOR: David Colapinto is an attorney who represents whistleblowers. He's also a founder¹⁰ of the National Whistleblower Center. Colapinto says the Whistleblowers Protection Enhancement Act allows workers to report to members of Congress wrongdoing they see in their agencies. But if your job is in national security, there are different rules.

COLAPINTO: If you work in the intelligence community, you must bring your concern to the inspector¹¹ general before you can go to Congress. So if you work at HUD, you can go right to your member of Congress or the committee that has jurisdiction¹² over housing and report your concern. Those are two major differences as we're seeing play out.

NAYLOR: The whistleblower who reportedly became concerned about conversations President Trump¹³ had with the president of Ukraine went through proper channels by reporting his or her concerns to the intelligence community's inspector general, says Colapinto. The IG deemed it an urgent concern and reported it to the acting¹⁴ director of national intelligence, who is, under law, supposed to submit it to Congress. But that's when things broke down. Kel McClanahan, director of National Security Counselors¹⁵, says the DNI has no authority to insert himself into the middle of the process.

KEL MCCLANAHAN: He is basically sending a message to all whistleblowers that the path that you fought so hard to get is still not going to work. And there's nothing you can do about it. And that sends a very dangerous message because it - basically in this world, you either protect all whistleblowers or you protect none.

NAYLOR: President Trump has attacked the whistleblower that reportedly complained about him as, in Trump's words, a partisan¹⁶ person who carried out a political hack¹⁷ job. But McClanahan says the whistleblower statute¹⁸ specifically leaves out political disagreement from its definition of urgent concern. And he says the consequences for whistleblowers can be severe.

MCCLANAHAN: Members of the intelligence community are constantly told not to go outside the family. They're told that they can be prosecuted¹⁹. They're told that they can have their clearances²⁰ removed.

NAYLOR: And that means they won't be able to get another federal job. But for a whistleblower who believes they're protecting something bigger, it may be worth the risk. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF JORGE MILLIANO'S "MENTAL FALLOUT")

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

16 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

17 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

18 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

19 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

20 clearances   

清除( clearance的名词复数 )； 许可； （录用或准许接触机密以前的）审查许可； 净空

参考例句：

• But I can't get to him without clearances. 但是没有证明我就没法见到他。
• The bridge and the top of the bus was only ten clearances. 桥与公共汽车车顶之间的间隙只有十厘米。