This is a difficult, but very important area of the law and is unique to the False Claims Act statute. The Act provides, in 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4), that where the qui tam suit is based upon "allegations or transactions” which already have been publicly disclosed “in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing”  in a “congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit or investigation” or in “the news media,” only an “original source” can bring a qui tam action.

These "public disclosure" provisions bar the federal courts from having jurisdiction over qui tam cases brought by persons other than an “original source.”  In the simplest terms, that means that the whistleblower relator loses the right to pursue the case and obtain a recovery, although the Government may still proceed.

An “original source” is an individual who has “direct and independent knowledge of the information upon which the allegations are based and has voluntarily provided the information to the Government” before filing a qui tam action.