In 1968, A. Ernest Fitzgerald, an Air Force civilian management official responsible for cost analysis and control systems, testified before Congress about a reported $2.3 billion cost overrun in the Lockheed C-5A transport-aircraft program. He also described avionics cost overruns and technical problems that Air Force officials had sought to downplay. His disclosures made military procurement waste a national political issue and challenged the Pentagon’s handling of major defense contracts.
After Fitzgerald’s 1968 and 1969 testimony, President Richard M. Nixon directed that he be removed, and Defense Secretary Melvin Laird ultimately terminated him. Fitzgerald successfully appealed to the Civil Service Commission and was reinstated, then spent decades campaigning against government fraud, waste, and abuse. His lawsuit against Nixon produced the landmark 1982 Supreme Court decision Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which established absolute presidential immunity from civil damages for official acts while clarifying the continuing importance of government-employee whistleblower protections.
