News from Congress: Tricia Newbold, an employee at the Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration, recently testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. As the Committee’s chair, Rep. Elijah Cummings, stated in an April 1, 2019 letter to the White House, Ms. Newbold “has informed the Committee that during the Trump Administration, she and other career officials adjudicated denials of dozens of applications for security clearances that were later overturned. As a result, she warned that security clearance applications for White House officials ‘were not always adjudicated in the best interest of national security.’ She also reported to the Committee that she has been targeted for retaliation after declining to grant security clearances based on longstanding national security protocols. She stated: ‘I’m terrified of going back. I know that this will not be perceived in favor of my intentions, which is to bring back the integrity of the office.'”
Ms. Newbold testified that she had previously blown the whistle internally within the Executive Office of the President. Ms. Newbold alleged that, in retaliation for her whistleblowing, the Office of Administration suspended her. Ms. Newbold has filed a complaint regarding this alleged whistleblower reprisal with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
As previously discussed in this blog, Ms. Newbold also has a current disability discrimination complaint against the Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration for alleged disability discrimination based on her dwarfism, among other claims, which is currently pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Ms. Newbold is represented by [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-6″] & [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-4″], P.C. Founding Principal Edward H. [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-6″].
