Jessica Tillipman

The Cost of a Lie: Kousisis Affirms Criminal Fraud Liability Without Economic Harm June 10, 2025 Kousisis et al. v. United States, 605 U.S. ____, 145 S. Ct. 1382 (2025) (Barrett, J.) Response by Jessica Tillipman Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2024) Slip Opinion | SCOTU...

My new piece, "The Cost of a Lie," which addresses the recent Kousisis decision, is now available: www.gwlr.org/kousisis-the...

Kousisis is a notable departure from recent SCOTUS decisions that have narrowed the scope of fraud and corruption statutes in the United States.

Yep - it always comes back to culture. I think the Gov’t has a lot more tools on the audit and oversight side, but the private sector is light years ahead on compliance best practices.

New GAO report is highly critical of DOD’s anti-fraud efforts: “DOD leadership has not demonstrated a strong commitment to fraud risk management.”

I’m providing an introduction to procurement fraud and the false claims act today at 1 PM eastern time. It’s free and virtual -registration information below.

Interested in learning more about fraud in government spending? I am happy to be partnering again with DAU to teach their Summer Law Series.

All 5 virtual sessions are free and open to the public and the first session kicks off this Thursday with fraud.

Registration info below 👇

Law professor reacts to government planning to accept luxury jet from Qatar | CNN Jessica Tillipman, Assistant Dean and Professor of Law at The George Washington University, joined “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown” to discuss plans for the Department of Defens...

I joined Pamela Brown and Wolf Blitzer today on the Situation Room to discuss the legal and ethical ramifications of Qatar’s reported gift of a luxury 747 to be used not only as Air Force One, but also potentially for the president’s personal use after he leaves office.

www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/T...

OPM appears to cancel sole-source award for cloud HR system Just a week ago, OPM had said the sole-source award to Workday was needed urgently because of a "systemic failure" in its HR infrastructure.

“If they had spent their time wisely preparing a legitimate competitive contract versus wasting their time to justify a sole source, we could’ve had a legitimate award now. They could’ve ended up with the same outcome.“ federalnewsnetwork.com/contracting/...

For anyone keeping tabs on "FAR reform," GSA has just published a new "FAR Overhaul" site, which includes new OMB guidance on the process: lnkd.in/eYcAWGRE

Another big update for people who work in the regulatory space. GSA and OMB are asking the public to submit ideas for eliminating specific regulations. We have links to the press release and the new online submission form in Trump GovCon Tracker ⬇️

In a few weeks, responsibility for this project will transition to a new team of students, and you can expect even more content from the GW Law Government Procurement Law Program to help you stay informed and provide guidance regarding these major acquisition reform efforts.

A huge thank you to GW Law students Brittany Rocco, Bryan Dewan, and Ryan Marcus for their outstanding work on this project — not only for creating this valuable resource, but for diligently updating it every single day over the past three months.

We’ve summarized the EO in the post below, and I highly encourage you to check out our Trump Administration Government Contracts Tracker, which already includes over 200 entries just three months into the new administration:

🔗 lnkd.in/ex23dGfW

Yesterday marked the close of the 2024–25 Academic Year at GW Law — and on the very same day, President Trump issued a significant new Executive Order calling for a comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

The White House President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance are committed to lowering costs for all Americans, securing our borders, unleashing American energy dominance, restoring peace through strength, a...

I can't find "bias" anywhere in the document, but it does state that "throughout the AI acquisition lifecycle, agencies shall consider and mitigate, as appropriate, risks to privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights."

I am still digesting this, but interested to hear what people think. 3/3

It also introduces a directive to maximize the use of AI products and services that are developed and produced in the United States and a more explicit disclosure by contractors of AI use in the fulfillment of a government contract. 2/3

The new OMB policy on Acquisition of AI is out.

There are some similarities to M-24-18 and in some areas, it goes further (vendor lock-in, acquisition lifecycle integration, IP/data rights, etc.). 1/3

Microsoft Hooked the Government on Its Products With Freebies. Could Elon Musk’s Starlink Be Doing the Same? The tech billionaire and Trump adviser “donated” Starlink service to the White House. The move resembles a previous maneuver by Microsoft, which used “free” trials to lock in costly upgrades across th...

I talked to ProPublica about why giving free services to the government - particularly tech - is such a problem. It undermines the competitive process and can lead to vendor lock-in. www.propublica.org/article/elon...

GW Law students recently had the opportunity to attend an engaging panel discussion and networking event hosted by Wiley LLP, centered on legal careers at the intersection of government contracts, national security, and cybersecurity.

Event recap:
🔗 blogs.gwu.edu/law-govpro/e...

Celebrating Women’s History Month & Government Procurement Law During Women’s History Month, GW Law’s Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew featured several women leading academic speciality programs at the law school, including GW Law’s Associate Dean for Government Procurem...

As Women's History Month comes to a close, GW Law's Assoc. Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies, @jtillipman.bsky.social shared why she has dedicated her career to promoting integrity, transparency, and accountability in procurement systems. blogs.gwu.edu/law-govpro/c...

The interview also has great info about the important role of inspectors general in finding actual fraud and wasteful spending, as well as the importance of the US Office Of Special Counsel and Office of Government Ethics. 3/3

We also discussed why most of what DOGE has found is actually just spending that is inconsistent with the current administration’s spending priorities. 2/3

4 things to know about rooting out government fraud and DOGE’s approach to it now YouTube video by PBS NewsHour

There has been a lot of discussion in the United States in recent weeks about “fraud” and “waste” in government spending. I had the opportunity to talk with PBS NewsHour about the legal distinctions between these terms. m.youtube.com/watch?featur... 1/3

And it’s a good reminder to any multinational company thinking about rolling back compliance efforts in the wake of changing US policy - there are other governments interested in bringing these cases. 2/2

International Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce Founding Statement

The U.K., France, and Switzerland stepping up to fill the void left by the Trump Administration’s “pause” of FCPA enforcement. Time will tell whether this will result in greater enforcement, but the messaging is clear. 1/2
www.gov.uk/government/p...

We had that debate today. I still find it nearly impossible to tell them apart.

It doesn’t apply to the FAA, which has its own procurement rules, but it applies to most other federal agencies. It can be waived, but “only if there is a most compelling reason to do so, such as when the Government’s needs cannot reasonably be otherwise met.” 3/

Although several rules apply here, the most relevant is FAR FAR 3.601(b)(2) which expressly prohibits the award of a contract to a company owned or controlled by a special government employee if that special government employee has the ability to influence the contract award. 2/

LAW STUDENTS/YOUNG LAWYERS: interested in a career in government contracts? Join the ABA Public Contract Law Section for an evening networking event and panel on Thursday March 20th at Seyfarth Shaw LLP's DC office.

Learn more and register here: maestro.abanet.org/list/inxsxxp...

Trump Admin: Government Contracts Tracker In light of the Trump Administration’s sweeping activities that have impacted the U.S. federal procurement system, GW Law has created a “tracker” to help students, alumni, and friends of the GW Law…

🚨 Yesterday, President Trump signed a new EO to centralize federal procurement of common goods and services under GSA.

⭐ Link to the EO may be found on our "Trump Administration Government Contracts Policy & News Tracker":