January 20, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia challenging the constitutionality of the seal provisions of the False Claims Act.
The suit contends that the seal provisions, which keep the complaint from being made public and keep the whistleblower from discussing the complaint until the Justice Department decides whether to intervene, can keep a fraud secret for years and prevent the public from learning about threats to health and safety.