Editing Mark Whitacre (section)

====James B. Lieber====
In his 2000 book, ''Rats In The Grain'', attorney James B. Lieber focuses on ADM's price-fixing trial and presents Whitacre as an American hero overpowered by ADM's vast political clout.<ref name="Mokhiber"/> ''Rats In The Grain'' presents evidence that the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] often subjugated itself to ADM's political power and well-connected attorneys in prosecuting Whitacre.

Lieber reveals that, in 1996, "ADM CEO, Mr. [[Dwayne Andreas]], told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that he had known about Whitacre's frauds for three years" and speculates that Whitacre was fired and turned over to the Federal authorities only after ADM learned he had been working as an FBI [[Mole (espionage)|mole]]. If he knew about Whitacre's embezzlement for three years, Lieber asks, why didn't Andreas fire Whitacre immediately? Lieber surmises: "There were only two logical explanations for Andreas' behavior: either he did not think the funds were stolen (in other words, they were approved) or he didn't care."{{sfn|Lieber|2000|p={{Page needed|date=September 2009}}}}

Based on the fact that other ADM executives committed crimes such as financial fraud by a former treasurer and technology thefts by others, Lieber concludes that fraud was well-known and widespread at ADM during the 1990s.<ref name="Mokhiber"/> Lieber suggests that ADM would have not turned Whitacre over to the authorities if he had not been a mole for the FBI.<ref name="AP"/>

Like Eichenwald, Lieber concludes that Whitacre's lengthy prison sentence was excessive and unjust when one takes into account Whitacre's cooperation in the much larger price-fixing case.<ref name="Webber"/><ref name="Whitaker">{{Citation |last= Whitaker |first= Leslie |title= Supermarket for Scandal |periodical= The Pennsylvania Gazette |date= October 30, 2000 |url= http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/1100/1100books.html |url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070206164101/http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/1100/1100books.html |archive-date= February 6, 2007 }}</ref>

Lieber also poses this question: "Where will the government obtain the next Mark Whitacre after potential whistleblowers observe how Whitacre was treated?"{{sfn|Lieber|2000|p={{Page needed|date=September 2009}}}}