Since it passed in 1985, this legislation has resulted in the recovery of over $10 billion in suits and investigations of fraud against the federal government. Berman and Grassley have established strong reputations as protectors of whisleblowers and warriers against fraud and abuse committed by government contractors. Two years ago, they commissioned a GAO study to investigate many of the concerns raised by Dr. Schwartz in her lawsuit. The GAO report validated many of these concerns and highlighted previously undisclosed problems with the 1997 missile tests (
www.house.gov/berman/pr030402.htm).
Upon learning that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was planning to file a motion to dismiss the Dr. Schwartz case based on the State Secrets Privilege rather than the merits of the case, they wrote the attached letter. To date, they have not received a response from Ashcroft nor any other DOJ official. DOJ has since filed their motion.
“The GAO report which I commissioned last year verified many of the allegations made by Dr. Schwartz. This report was based primarily on public documents.” Berman continued, “Given that this GAO report is unclassified and underwent substantial review by DOD, it seems reasonable to conclude that at least some of Dr. Schwartz’s allegations could be heard and properly defended without necessitating the use of highly secretive documents that would endanger our national security."
