Richland PNNL manager asks for new trial. Was Trump impeachment a factor in her loss?

A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory manager has asked a federal judge for a new trial, after a unanimous jury verdict against her last month.

Aleta Busselman sued Battelle, which operates PNNL in Richland for the Department of Energy, saying that she was removed from her position after she objected to management changes to an investigative report.

“The jury got it right in December when, after reviewing the evidence, unanimously cleared Battelle and PNNL of any wrongdoing,” said Greg Koller, spokesman for PNNL. “The facts have not changed and there is no legal or factual basis for Busselman and her attorney’s claims.”

Jack Sheridan, Busselman’s attorney, said Busselman was a whistleblower and a decision not to protect her as such is likely to discourage other employees from taking whistleblower action.

He also raised the possibility that the political history made as the jurors were deliberating the case could have influenced their decision.

After hearing closing arguments through much of the afternoon Dec. 18, the jury deliberated for about an hour before going home.

That evening the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump.

The next morning the jury resumed deliberations “in this extraordinary atmosphere,” said Busselman’s attorney, Jack Sheridan, in his federal court request for a new trial.

It returned a verdict in favor of Battelle within an hour.

PNNL fraud investigation

The evidence permitted only one reasonable conclusion, which was contrary to the jury’s verdict, Sheridan said in his request for a new trial.

Busselman was responsible for investigating why PNNL was vulnerable to being defrauded of $530,000.

In December of 2016 the national laboratory was tricked into sending a $530,000 payment owed to a Tri-Cities construction company to a fraudulent bank account.

Employees had received an email saying the construction company had a new bank account, which was not true.

Busselman said PNNL officials interfered with the report her team prepared to determine why PNNL was vulnerable to the fraud. They thought it made management look bad, she said.

However, attorneys for Battelle argued that the investigation into the theft of the money was handled no differently that other investigations.

Changes made to the report were part of routine “give and take,” they said.

Busselman would have been moved from her position, despite any disagreement, because she had told a supervisor she was unhappy with it, the defense said.