The Wall Street Journal reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission gave up the identity of a Pipeline Trading Systems LLC whistleblower when an SEC lawyer decided to show the PTS executive the lawyer was questioning a notebook compiled by the whistleblower that was “filled with jottings about trades, calls and meetings.” The executive in question recognized the whistleblower’s handwriting.

The WSJ article also cites an SEC spokesman:

Our review of the facts confirms that we followed this practice in this case.  While we utilize evidence from all witnesses, we do not reveal which witnesses may be cooperating with the government except as required by law or the governing rules of civil procedure.

Oops.  Apparently, given the spokesman’s claim that the lawyer “followed this practice” in the present case, it’s SEC civil procedure to give a whistleblower’s identity to the investigation target during the investigation.

In another WSJ report, we learn that The Obama/Holder Justice Department “inadvertently misled the Supreme Court in January 2009 by asserting that officials routinely ‘facilitate’ the return of erroneously deported immigrants.”  That assertion was provided the Supremes pursuant to Nken v Holder, and Chief Justice John Roberts cited it in a ruling that deportation while an appeal was still pending didn’t necessarily impose irreparable harm on immigrants.  This revelation is especially timely given that the Supreme Court also heard arguments this week about the legitimacy of Arizona’s immigration law,

Oops.  Sorry about that.

How are they related?  By the dishonesty shared by these government organs.  Why dishonest?  Because the lawyers involved are highly trained, very intelligent people, and they were not acting on the spur of the moment.  It stretches credulity well past breaking to think these were simply careless mistakes.

For how much longer can afford this level of dishonesty in our government?