Thinking of blowing the whistle on corruption in Iraq?

[karlrschneider]

Sorry if this has been posted, I couldn't find it.

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=NATIONAL&ID=565074540867487317

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Shocking!

Thanks for posting this!

[angrycarpenter]

2. lovely

how we treat some of the bravest people in America.

[Joanne98]

3. This is interesting....

One way to blow the whistle is to file a ''qui tam'' lawsuit (taken from the Latin phrase ''he who sues for the king, as well as for himself'') under the federal False Claims Act.

Signed by Abraham Lincoln in response to military contractors selling defective products to the Union Army, the act allows private citizens to sue on the government's behalf.

The government has the option to sign on, with all plaintiffs receiving a percentage of monetary damages, which are tripled in these suits.

It can be a straightforward and effective way to recoup federal funds lost to fraud. In the past, the Justice Department has joined several such cases and won. They included instances of Medicare and Medicaid overbilling, and padded invoices from domestic contractors.

But the government has not joined a single quit tam suit alleging Iraq reconstruction abuse, estimated in the tens of millions. At least a dozen have been filed since 2004.

''It taints these cases,'' said attorney Alan Grayson, who filed the Custer Battles suit and several others like it. ''If the government won't sign on, then it can't be a very good case - that's the effect it has on judges.''

The Justice Department declined comment.