$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.

Post Tools
EMAIL
PRINT
6 COMMENTS

gag order

Share and save this post:

AlterNet Social Networks:

Got a tip for a post?:
Email us | Anonymous form

PEEK RSS Feed

Main AlterNet RSS Feed

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

Return to PEEK » Post Tools: EMAIL PRINT 6 COMMENTS PERMALINK

Also in PEEK
What's Wrong With the Healthcare Bill? Ask a Nurse. "If this bill passes, the industry will become more powerful and could be beyond the reach of reform for generations." Post by John Nichols. December 22, 2009.	Giuliani Won't Run For Office in 2010, New Yorkers Breathe Sighs of Relief Rudy is expected to announce Tuesday that he's not running for governor, U.S. senator or any other office next year. Post by Adam Bink. December 22, 2009.	Cop Pulls Gun During Snowball Fight ... Could it Have Been 'Roid Rage'? Wigged out cops on steroids is as frightening as one could imagine. Post by Joshua Holland. December 21, 2009.

You've chosen to turn comments off for the entire site. Would you like to turn them back on?

«	December 2009					»
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Newsletter

PEEK archive by date:

Use » and « to view other months.

Search: