Cato Institute on Government Reform

FactCheck: Whistleblower rules never require 1st-hand report

The theory was initially propagated by The Federalist website on Sep. 27. The article claims that in "Aug. 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings."

Facts First: This is false. The whistleblower submission form was revised in Aug. 2019, but the revision did not change the rules on who can submit a whistleblower complaint. The inspector general of the intelligence community said that having firsthand knowledge of the event has never been required in order to submit a whistleblower complaint.

Term limits of 6 years in House and 12 years in Senate

Americans don't want a permanent ruling class of career politicians. But that's what the power of incumbency and all the perks that incumbents give themselves are giving us. We want a citizen legislature and a citizen Congress--a government of, by, and for the people. To get that, we need term limits. We should limit members to three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate. Let more people serve. Let more people make the laws. And let's get some people who don't want to make Congress a lifelong career.

Some say that term limits would deprive us of the skills of experienced lawmakers. Really? It's the experienced legislators who gave us a $17 trillion national debt, and the endless war in Iraq, a massive government spying with no congressional oversight, and the Wall Street bailout.

Congress can decide which "emoluments" are acceptable

The wording of the Emoluments clause points one way to resolution: Congress can give consent, as it did in the early years of the Republic to presents received by Ben Franklin. It can decide what it is willing to live with in the way of Trump conflicts. If it misjudges public opinion, it will pay a political price at the next election.

If it doesn't act, could someone sue to enforce the Emoluments Clause? The Supreme Court could turn the dispute down on the grounds that it's a political question for which the indicated constitutional remedy should be impeachment.

Term limits oppose professionalization of legislators

1. Political scientists were instrumental in promoting the professionalization of legislators.
2. The revisionist approach to democratic theory continues to influence the way most of them view democracy.
3. They are cynical about the attentiveness, general knowledge, and judgmental capacity of the average voter.
4. They are committed to the conservation of leadership.
5. They perceive attacks on professional politicians as a threat to their own self-proclaimed professionalism.
6. And political partisanship may encourage them to oppose term limits.