Letter to Senator Grassley

Dear Senator Grassley,

I have watched you champion the cause of whistleblowers throughout the years. As someone who fought the corruption at ATF for a very long time, I can tell you first hand how difficult it was. When one goes up against an entity that has “unlimited funds to litigate a case indefinitely” (ATF’s words, not mine), it is an almost impossible battle to win since one party has limited resources, no power, and witnesses who many times refuse to testify out of a very justifiable fear, and the other side has nothing to lose, an incredible amount if power, control of most, if not all of your witnesses, and unlimited taxpayer dollars at their disposal. This battle not only destroys the careers of the disadvantaged party, it destroys their marriages, their health, and leaves them financially ruined. But that, Senator Grassley, is not the worst of it.

The worst part of this life-changing fight is what you see happen to the people who step up to tell the truth on your behalf simply because it is the right thing to do. This type of person is very rare in general, but quite common among ATF agents. As you have recently seen for yourself, the agents stand in sharp contrast to many in ATF’s top management. When an agent steps up to tell the truth and it is unflattering to these managers, the agents know there will be severe retaliation and it will begin immediately. Yet time and again, they will tell the truth anyway.

When I was a complainant against ATF, every one of my witnesses was suspended or fired before they had barely stepped off the witness stand. Every agent who testified and/or lied for ATF management was promoted. The Administrative Law Judge in my case was so outraged at what she saw, she issued a 40 page decision citing “ATF’s highest ranking officials” for perjury, conspiracy to cover-up an illegal activity, and ATF’s favorite, reprisal.

All my witnesses were then thrown into the same hell I had been living for years. The reprisals were so unbelievably obvious that all but one of these agents did finally go on to win their cases against ATF. ATF fired him and he never did get his job and his pension back. Not because he did anything other than tell the truth, but because his case was lost in the ugly process that is litigation against the federal government. Every agent who comes forward to tell you the truth in the current ATF disaster knows they stand to lose everything. The longer ATF litigates these cases “indefinitely”, the higher the chances that the complainant will have their case fall through the cracks at some point or they will be just too emotionally and financially drained to continue the fight.

Although my case was almost twenty years ago, it is a perfect example of the viciousness and thoroughness of the reprisals at ATF. And my case is just one of thousands. This treatment by ATF management against it’s agents who blow the whistle is legendary and is no better today than it was decades ago. The ‘rules’ have always been very clear; align with management when it’s time to lie and cover-up and you get promoted. Stand against ATF management in truth, and you, all your witnesses, and anyone who appears sympathetic towards you will have their lives turned into a living nightmare. I am proud but not surprised, to see the number of agents still stepping forward to assist you in the Fast & Furious investigation in spite of this.

Senator Grassley, even after you spoke directly to ATF managers and told them that you would take it personally if any of the ATF agents cooperating in the "Fast & Furious" investigation suffered reprisals, they took away the gun and badge of one of the main whistleblowers within days! That agent is now fighting to keep his job, and if you think proposing to fire him is vicious and brazen, you should see what happens when no one in Congress is paying attention. ATF should be the poster child for the Whistleblowers Act. They have never been content with a simple firing when they retaliate; they attempt to destroy you, your reputation and your finances.

On behalf of the agents coming forward to tell the truth about Fast & Furious, I am begging you not to look away until these agents no longer face any danger of retaliation.

In the meanwhile, I will be watching for that ceremony to finally occur in the Rose Garden of the White House.

Prayers for you in your fight on behalf of whistleblowers everywhere,

Sandra E. Davis