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Column: A Trump judge just overturned the government’s most effective anti-fraud tool, which has stood for 150 years
Los Angeles Times ^ | Oct. 25, 2024 3 AM PT | Michael Hiltzik

Posted on 10/26/2024 11:16:05 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Since 1986, whistleblowers have been in the forefront of the government’s war on fraud, accounting for $53 billion, or more than 70%, of the $75 billion recovered from swindlers on defense contracts, from Medicare and from other federal programs.

There’s no debate over what’s driving this record: It’s a 1986 federal law that awards whistleblowers up to 30% of the recovery. For the federal government, this is a bargain. Without the law, the government might never even know about most of the $75 billion in fraud that was unearthed.

That makes the law “one of the government’s top fraud-fighting tools,” says James King, a spokesman for the Anti-Fraud Coalition, a Washington watchdog group.

Without the qui tam, the federal government often would never find out about the fraud at all.

— Leonardo Cuello, Georgetown University

So perhaps it’s unsurprising that a Trump-appointed judge in Florida has just declared a key provision of the law unconstitutional. The provision concerns so-called qui tam actions, in which private litigants bring lawsuits on behalf of the government as well as themselves. (The Latin term came to us via old English law.)

The ruling came from federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, whom Trump named to the bench in 2020 despite her having been labeled “not qualified” by the American Bar Assn. due to her “lack of meaningful trial experience.” She did, however, boast a sterling right-wing legal pedigree, including service as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Humor
KEYWORDS: 49to41; california; kathrynkmizelle; kathrynmizelle; losangelesslimes; losangelestimes; mdflorida; michaelhiltzik; perjury; smear; subornedperjury; trumpjudge; trumpwasright
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...a 1986 federal law that awards whistleblowers up to 30% of the recovery.

The qui tam concept is older than that, however. It dates back to the first Congress, which enacted numerous qui tam laws signed by President George Washington

1 posted on 10/26/2024 11:16:05 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Another of DJT’s mistakes heard from


2 posted on 10/26/2024 11:21:20 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

OK, if the left is up in arms over it and bad mouthing the judge, it must have been a good ruling.

So for us non-legalese savvy FReepers, what’s the Cliff Notes version?


3 posted on 10/26/2024 11:21:30 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
the government’s war on fraud

Are they joking? The government created epic fraud in every direction when they decided to open our borders to millions from God knows where as they forced the American people at gun point to pay billions annually for all of this fraud and lawlessness.

4 posted on 10/26/2024 11:23:09 AM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The particular aspect of the law held unconstitutional dates from 1986. The essential concept of the False Claims Act though can be preserved through remedial legislation and changes in judicial and executive procedures.


5 posted on 10/26/2024 11:29:27 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

” Kathryn Kimball Mizelle”

Beware three name and hyphenated women.


6 posted on 10/26/2024 11:33:40 AM PDT by dljordan (What would Michael Collins do?)
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To: metmom

The article explains it fairly well. If the government takes no action after receiving information about fraud in one of its programs, the individual citizen/employee that brought the information is allowed to sue on behalf of the feds and himself. If the suit finds that fraud was committed, the individual gets a large portion of the recovery. The procedure is designed to 1) encourage reporting of fraud by individual/employees, and 2) prod the feds into prosecuting the cases.
What happens in many cases, is that the fraud allegation is only partially documented, the feds don’t proceed, and then law firms specializing in these cases pounce like hungry wolves, get complete discovery and fashion huge multi-million dollar cases. It sometimes is almost fraud in itself.


7 posted on 10/26/2024 11:33:40 AM PDT by oldplayer
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So perhaps it is not surprising that......this “Trump judge”.....

this not so subtle editorializing in a supposedly NEWS report....is a primo example of why so many people in Californication don’t read the LASlimes anymore, a paper that once nearly conquered the entire state’s marketplace with editions in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, the Inland Empire, the San Fernando Valley, and San Francisco.

An honest editor could make the article read with far less political bias. And still report any substantive content.
But of course that is not what the LASlimes does.


8 posted on 10/26/2024 11:34:55 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: PIF

He better straighten his head up. Still voting for him and praying.


9 posted on 10/26/2024 11:35:41 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U
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To: All

In 2023 of the Biden/Harris admin, the Pentagon’s military personnel budget was $184 billion, which is the second largest category of spending for the Department of Defense (DoD)......covers pay and retirement benefits for service members.

The Pentagon’s proposed 2025 budget includes an $8.9 billion increase to $181.9 billion for military personnel, despite an expected decrease in active end force.

The budget also includes a 4.5% pay raise for service members and a 2% pay raise for civilian employees.

Last year in the Biden/Harris admin, the Pentagon couldn’t properly account for a whopping 61% of its total $3.5 trillion in assets. That figure increased this year, with the department insufficiently documenting 63% of its now $3.8 trillion in assets.

Military contractors possess many of these assets, but to an extent unbeknownst to the Pentagon ........ and to Biden/Harris.


10 posted on 10/26/2024 11:47:45 AM PDT by Liz (Faith is believing what you cannot see; its reward is to see what you believe. St Augustine)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

There is a reason liberals hate this judge’s decision killing qui tam lawsuits. Justice Thomas and most of the conservatives on the SC are waiting to strike these qui tam lawsuits down. They give standing to private citizens to sue companies and individuals on behalf of the government for alleging companies are overcharging or acting fraudulently on government contracts and collecting a significant percentage of the award. Any tom, Dick or Harry can sue even though they have no connection to the contract. The American bar loves the suits for the same reason they like class action law suits. It is a revenue generator for them and opens up companies to a shooting gallery of of any number of folks looking to win the lottery as well as progressives looking to score political points against business entities.


11 posted on 10/26/2024 11:50:33 AM PDT by chuckee
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

1986 is only 38 years ago,
not 150.


12 posted on 10/26/2024 11:51:27 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” - the deep-state)
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To: oldplayer

What you describe sounds like something we don’t need. What we do need though is timely, relevant and effective congressional oversight of agencies and individuals that ignore valid claims of fraud. A lot of people don’t understand what is valid and a lot of other people use that as an excuse to ignore what they don’t want to see. I don’t see any new or changed law preventing either thing.


13 posted on 10/26/2024 11:53:25 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (More important than why there was nobody protecting the AGR roof, how did Crooks know that?)
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To: faithhopecharity

Just another opinion / editorial / hit piece thinly disguised as a news article. Yes, the judge is over the target.


14 posted on 10/26/2024 11:56:01 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (More important than why there was nobody protecting the AGR roof, how did Crooks know that?)
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To: oldplayer

Election frauds also?


15 posted on 10/26/2024 11:58:52 AM PDT by Mark (DONATE ONCE every 3 months-is that a big deal?)
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To: yuleeyahoo

That’s right. The LA Slimes and the rest of the lamestream fake news 📰 🗞 media are truly ignorant.


16 posted on 10/26/2024 11:59:27 AM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: metmom
OK, if the left is up in arms over it and bad mouthing the judge, it must have been a good ruling.

Exactly my thought.

17 posted on 10/26/2024 12:03:27 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

An important factor in how successful the case is is whether or not the government wants the fraudulent company to succeed. I know of one case a company A was providing material that did not meets the standards set in the government contract and still shipped to company B the material. When the government was notified, the government contacted company B which ultimately changed the requirements so that the material would pass. The government dropped the case and it went no further.


18 posted on 10/26/2024 12:05:24 PM PDT by jimfr
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To: yuleeyahoo
1986 is only 38 years ago, not 150.

It helps to read the entire article. Can't cram everything into one sentence.

The qui tam concept is older than that, however. It dates back to the first Congress, which enacted numerous qui tam laws signed by President George Washington.

19 posted on 10/26/2024 12:49:32 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: metmom
OK, if the left is up in arms over it and bad mouthing the judge, it must have been a good ruling

This

In the present distress, as a general rule, if the ABA and legal community are against it, it follows that it is probably a reform ( and vice versa ).
20 posted on 10/26/2024 12:58:11 PM PDT by af_vet_1981 ( The bus came by and I got on, That's when it all began)
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