Commentary Archives - Page 10 of 49 - PEER.org

Commentary

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

COMMENTARY | Immunity Begets Impunity: Responding to Illegal Orders

by Jeff Ruch | August 13, 2024
The impact of the recent Supreme Court decision creating a sweeping constitutional presidential immunity will be felt for a long time ...

COMMENTARY | Treasured heritage at risk: The Old Spanish Trail

by Chandra Rosenthal | July 26, 2024
Despite the Old Spanish Trail's historical significance, BLM's controversial decision threatens to mar it with the blight of oil and gas development ...

COMMENTARY | BLM Unclear on Transparency

by Chandra Rosenthal | July 24, 2024
According to the latest Interior Department quarterly report on its backlog of unanswered FOIA requests, BLM leads as its least responsive agency ...

COMMENTARY | Science or Scam – NOAA Fisheries Gaslighting

by Guest Contributor | July 23, 2024
We keep hearing that we should "follow the science." Sometimes, though, scams are coated in scientific veneer ...

COMMENTARY | Project 2025: Wingnut Wing Flapping

by Jeff Ruch |
The realities of a second Trump term are scary enough without the need to spend time worrying about boogeymen conjured up by the Heritage Foundation ...

COMMENTARY | EPA Lacks a PFAS Containment Strategy

by Tim Whitehouse | July 17, 2024
To stop the forever chemical crisis, EPA must interrupt the flow of PFAS reaching our water, soil, and food chain every day ...