This week, standing alongside YouTuber Nick Shirley, whose video alleging fraud at Minnesota child care centers attracted national attention after being amplified by the White House, President Donald Trump put whistleblowers in the national spotlight with his announcement of a new program to reward Americans who expose fraud with a 1% share of the money recovered.
This is good news from a White House that has historically had a sordid past with whistleblowers and “leakers” who have exposed information Washington would rather keep private. And while that is true, it’s important to note that this hostility isn’t unique to Trump. Previous administrations have also pursued people who exposed government secrets.
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But if the president wants more Americans to expose wrongdoing, I’m all for it and I have a few suggestions about where they should start.
I’d love to have the resources to do some of the shoe-leather investigating Shirley has made famous. My colleagues and I at the Center for Health & Democracy have identified thousands of entities in UnitedHealth Group’s sprawling corporate empire through our Sunlight Report. Imagine what we might learn by showing up at some of those addresses (like UnitedHealth Group’s LHCG LXXXIX, LLC based in West Virginia or ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone, LLC based in Florida) and asking a few...
This week, standing alongside YouTuber Nick Shirley, whose video alleging fraud at Minnesota child care centers attracted national attention after being amplified by the White House, President Don...