Extending Secrecy in Whistleblower Probes Divides DOJ, Judges

Courts are pushing back on the Justice Department’s practice of concealing whistleblower-generated investigations for years, exposing tension over a law that some DOJ officials say judges fail to grasp.

The conflict spilled into public view recently when prosecutors from two of the most active districts for attracting whistleblower complaints of corporate fraud—Philadelphia and Boston—said that federal judges are rushing the department to lift seals on the cases because they don’t understand the complexities of the Civil War-era False Claims Act.

“Everything takes a long time. The judges really don’t get that,” said Joshua Levy, the acting US attorney for ...