Things are looking up at the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, following years of poor leadership under the Bush administration.

Responsible for investigating federal whistleblower disclosures and protecting them from retaliation, OSC is on pace this year to record a number of reported incidents from whistleblowers.

OSC so far has received 847 disclosures, putting the agency on pace for 1,129 by the close of fiscal 2012 on September 30. If it hits this mark, it would be the highest total for one year and represent a 22% increase from the previous year.

The OSC is now led by Carolyn Lerner who was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as special counsel.

Before Lerner, George W. Bush appointee Scott Bloch was accused of undermining the OSC’s mission. He reportedly closed hundreds of whistleblower cases without investigating them and retaliated against his own employees.

Bloch was convicted of withholding information from Congress while he was under investigation. He was sentenced to one month in jail, one year of unsupervised probation and 200 hours community service.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Annual Report to Congress (Office of Special Counsel) (pdf)