I can help with that question.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is the federal whistle-blower protection agency in the United States. It's had a very “roller-coaster” history.
There have been many extended periods in which whistle-blowers have had the same perspective that you folks have had towards the Integrity Commissioner. We would have to warn people against sharing their evidence. It would be turned right over to the agencies that were retaliating against them, like a source of free discovery for the people who were the bullies. They would not take any action against the issues the whistle-blowers had raised.
We fought for the integrity of that office. In the Whistleblower Protection Act, they were stripped of their authority to take any actions that would undermine the interests of those who were seeking help. They might not help everybody, but they couldn't turn on them and make things worse.
We enfranchised whistle-blowers into the participation and review process of acting on their disclosures, because a public integrity commissioner can't do it alone. They can't possibly have the necessary expertise for all the far-flung activities through which power can be abused. They have to team up with a whistle-blower. We institutionalized that in the law.
It's not a panacea, but I would give the Office of Special Counsel in our country a B to a B minus now. That's a lot better than it was.