U.S. President Donald Trump, who has often spoken of the negative impact of “leakers” within his government since becoming president, made an ironic request of the United Nations on Monday: protect whistleblowers.
Trump was making his first appearance before the UN General Assembly on Monday when he told the diplomats the organization needed reshaping to help reach its full potential.
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“In recent years the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement, while the United Nations on a regular budget has increased by 140 per cent and its staff has more than doubled since 2000,” Trump said.
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He followed with “The United Nations must hold every level of management accountable, protect whistleblowers and focus on results rather than on process.”
Trump has consistently expressed frustration over the whistleblowers in his government.
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Some have been related to probes into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; others have concerned infighting in the White House.
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On Aug. 4, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department will escalate its crackdown on whistleblowers.
Sessions, who was once a Trump favourite who has been in the doghouse for the past few months, also threatened to chase the media to aid in his crackdown on whistleblowers.
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The attorney general is also reportedly considering polygraph tests for government staff in order to weed out leakers.
So far, accused whistleblower/leaker Reality Winner is the only person who has been charged with a crime as far as the public is aware.
In June, Trump did sign an executive order to create an office to protect whistleblowers at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Some of the more high-profile leaks in the Trump administration have revealed White House infighting in articles that would appear not to involve divulging classified information.
— With files from Reuters
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