Last Wednesday, Robert Mueller, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing.  Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) used the opportunity to question Dir. Mueller about how the administration’s proposed whistleblower bill (S. 372) came to propose the repeal of the protection for FBI employees (5 USC 2303).  Dir. Mueller testified that he did not recall what that section of law said off hand, but promised to get back to Sen. Grassley about that. The Director also promised to check whether any FBI employees were involved in making the proposal to repeal 5 USC 2303.  You can read about the exchange in The Washington Times. The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has now posted a transcript of the Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing, and of Sen. Grassley’s press conference where he says he will place a hold on all Justice Department nominations until his questions are answered.