In my last blog over the summer before a much needed holiday, I set forth these warnings from friends and colleagues and probably some warnings that you have heard if you have also contemplated whistleblowing: "You will never work in nonprofits again"... "You have to look out for your family"... "You will be sued"...or worse yet, "You could be Fosterized!!". These were a set of difficult, potential consequences, some of which became a stark reality.
What had been foreshadowed in the Fox News Article "Ex-charity exec who helped expose $500G Clinton Foundation donation faces legal threats" came to pass when I was looking very forward to that much needed holiday and I was summoned down by my former employer Happy Hearts Fund to the New York State Supreme Court for a hearing requesting a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to shut me up.
That hearing went fine. The judge refused to issue the TRO stating that the language in my Separation Agreement (which was being used as the legal basis to stifle me) was too broad. My vacation, now back on track, was short lived as I got hauled right back into court for a Preliminary Injunction hearing. (The TRO is usually issued to stop your actions just long enough to get you before a judge who can then issue a longer lasting restraint, a Preliminary Injunction, with the objective of suing you, winning, and issuing a Permanent Injunction).
This time my court experience was, well, different. After waiting in the courtroom for over an hour, while the judge reviewed in chambers the Plaintiff's court documents but conspicuously not mine, finally entered the courtroom and announced her anger at the first judge for ruling in my favor. Next she shot off a litany of additional things that displeased her which included the fact that I didn't have an attorney and that the whole case and everyone involved disgusted her. She then laughed as she asked the opposing counsel if they knew I considered myself a whistleblower and that I had written blog posts for HuffPost.
She let all of us know of her utter disgust for Fox News who she said I must have gone to because no one else would listen to me. Funny though she didn't address the fact that it was the NY Times who first reported the story. "But, but, but, your honor?" ..."If I need to hear from you, I'll tell you", she said.
Not allowing me to speak nor even pretending to read my written response to the accusations that I had prepared and submitted to court, she was armed - fully loaded and cocked - with the accusations presented by the attorneys on the other side, due process be damned.
I remember a barrage of fragmented commands as her voice went to silence in my mind and my anger took over: "Don't talk to the media. Don't write on Huffington Post. Don't do any interviews". My thoughts were simply. "WTF? When do I get to defend myself? When do I get to fight for my right to speak out about unethical and illegal activities? This is America."
She told me to get an attorney because the same separation agreement the first judge deemed too broad, she deemed to be iron clad - that "smart attorneys" had written this agreement and I needed to follow it. When I explained that this agreement did not allow me to even go on a job interview because it literally forbid me from talking about the organization to anyone, ever, she told me I could ignore that.
Needless to say I was pissed and I was confused - I was confused by a judge who took the time to rail against Fox News but not take the time to allow for a defendant to state her defense; I was confused by a judge who told me I could violate a clause in an agreement but who also forbid me to violate that very clause.
After fielding this bum rush and scolding as if I were a prepubescent teen, I was ready and prepared for the hammer that was about to come down. But, what came next was a thud. I am still confused and it is over two months later. No Order was issued (the judge had ordered the Plaintiff's to draft the Order for her signature). Why? I call bullshit. I now assume that court was actually being used as a scare tactic by my former employer's Pro Bono attorneys - another in a long line of bullying tactics used to hide disdainful behavior.
Perhaps, some may say, I should have thought about this prior to speaking to the NY Times and FoxNews.com I am a smart woman, anyone could have predicted that I would be hauled into court eventually. This is true. But, I heard from my own conscience and over and over again from employees who wanted "something to be done" I had watched as nothing was being done. So, I did something. And, I am glad that I did.
While I certainly don't take full credit, nor do I know the full inner workings of what took place or is taking place - I know a few things. I know that all but two board members who were there during my tenure have resigned since this has all come out - their resignation speaks volumes about the very behavior for which I spoke out against and for which legal action was taken to try to stop me. I also know that the Clinton Foundation told the NY Times in a front page story that the $500,000 they received for merely showing up to receive an award was going to be used in Haiti for a good cause so there is now more pressure for that to happen. And, I know that there are questions as to why the Clintons are willing to take money from seemingly anyone--from small nonprofits to horrific governmental regimes like North Korea-- in order to make a buck; and this public discourse matters since one of them is running for President again.
And, I know that while I was taken aback this summer, and admittedly intimidated by the lawyers and overall legal system that seemed so arbitrary, I can no longer be bullied because I decided that I will no longer allow it to happen. And finally, I know that doing something as seemingly small as telling the truth has a ripple effect. Change is often slow and deliberate, but it can happen if we speak up.