The Washington Post’s Carrie Johnson reports this morning on the hundreds of backlogged whistleblower cases at the Justice Dept.  These cases include charges that Iraq and Afghanistan contractors and large pharmaceutical companies are defrauding the taxpayer millions.

But what exactly these perpetually pending cases are about, and whether they’ll actually be litigated, is a mystery. Under the Civil War-era False Claims Act, somebody who blows the whistle on, for example, a corrupt government contractor, can’t say a word publicly until Justice’s 75-whistleblower lawyer team has handled the case.

Another mystery is whether the Justice legal team is deliberately ignoring cases especially damaging to the Bush administration.-MB

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