Criminal Law Library Blog
From: Findlaw Legal Documents, August 12, 2008
Dismissal of CIA Leak Case Affirmed
“(U.S. D.C. Circuit) – In a suit by Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband alleging that employees in the Office of the Vice President and the State Department violated their constitutional rights by publishing Wilson’s status as a covert CIA employee, dismissal of all claims is affirmed where: 1) the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552a, upon which all of plaintiffs’ claims were based, is a comprehensive remedial scheme, precluding the court from allowing the Bivens remedies sought by plaintiffs; 2) even if a Bivens remedy were available, trying plaintiffs’ claims in this case would still not be appropriate as it would require the disclosure of sensitive intelligence information; and 3) a state-law cause of action for invasion of privacy failed as defendants were acting within the scope of their employment when they disclosed information about plaintiff, leaving plaintiffs with remedies only under the Federal Tort Claims Act.”