$23 Billion Gag Order

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise at 4:00 AM on June 12, 2008.

A US gag order is preventing the BBC from revealing $23 billion in mismanaged Iraq funds.

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BBC reporters think they know where $23 billion missing and misspent Iraq war dollars went, but they can't tell us:

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have
been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

The BBC's Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources
to research how much some private contractors have profited from the
conflict and rebuilding.

A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.

The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies. [BBC]

The article doesn't go into detail about the nature gag order. I assume it applies to individuals involved in cases under adjudication, not to the BBC reporters directly.

A lot of war profiteering scandals come to light through whistle blower lawsuits.

Last year, I interviewed an attorney who specializes in representing whistle blowers. He told me that it's not unusual for gag orders to be imposed in these cases.

Whistle blower lawsuits are automatically sealed for a couple of weeks after they are filed in order to give the DOJ a chance to decide whether to pursue the matter.

It's not clear whether that's what's going on with the 70 cases the BBC alludes to, above.

If the article is literally accurate, and a single gag order covers 70 cases, a whistle blower might have brought a very big case.

Tagged as: iraq, whistleblower, gag order

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