Horn v. Huddle, a 15-year old case that has been buried under state secrets grounds has resurfaced. On July 20, Chief Judge Royce Lambert unseals this case. The Court has also recently ordered the government to file with the Court unclassified versions of every document in the case and has denied the government’s assertion of state secrets privilege and proposed protective order.
The plaintiff of this case is Richard Horn, a former employee of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who brings this suit for actions that occurred while he was stationed in Rangoon, Burma as DEA country attaché. Defendants are Franklin Huddle, Jr. (“Defendant I”), a State Department employee and Chief of Mission of the Embassy in Rangoon, Burma and Arthur Brown (“Defendant II”), a CIA employee in Rangoon, Burma.
Plaintiff claims violation of his Fourth Amendment rights under the Constitution. He alleges that “on or about August 12, 1993, Defendant II or someone acting on his behalf “tapped” his late night telephone call, recorded it and disclosed the contents to Defendant I.” […] Plaintiff further argues that “the purpose of the phone tap was to assist Defendant I in obtaining information that would justify Defendant I demanding plaintiff’s removal from Burma or otherwise justify expelling him directly.”
The Plaintiff alleges that “Defendant I sought Plaintiff’s removal from Burma as retaliation for Plaintiff sending reports to congressman that conflicted with State Department reports prepared by Defendant I. Plaintiff supports his accusation of wire tapping with the contents of a cable sent by Defendant I on or about August 13, 1993 to his superiors in the State Department that contained allegedly verbatim quotations from the August 12 phone conversation.”
See the 2004 filing here archived in Secrecy News. The PDF file with the Court originally dismissing this case on state secrets grounds is here. Other background materials from Richard Horn’s representative are here.
Franklin Huddle, Jr. was Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from 1990–1994. He later became United States Ambassador to Tajikistan from 2001-2003. There must be a lesson here for interagency cooperation , if this ever gets to a trial stage. The problem is the Judge ain't happy. Originally the Court believed that nothing about Mr. Brown, including his name, was admissible at trial, and the case was dismissed. But apparently, Mr. Brown's identity was not in fact covert as of 2002. In its Memorandum Opinion dated January 15, 2009, the Court states that "Defendant Brown and the Office of General Counsel of the CIA perpetrated fraud on this court and the Court of Appeals." This case has been on since 1994, so through three administrations now. I wonder who's going to get thrown under the bus when this is over?
- Richard Horn v. Franklin Huddle, Jr. et al. : Civil Action No. 94-1756 (RCL) July 16, 2009: PDF
- Richard Horn v. Franklin Huddle, Jr. et al. : Civil Action No. 94-1756 (RCL) July 20, 2009: PDF
- NYT: August 27,2001: On Trial: Fighting Drugs vs. Fighting Dictators
From the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy:
Richard Horn v. Franklin Huddle Jr, et al, alleging unlawful wiretapping:
- Order to Unseal Certain Court Records, July 20, 2009
- Order Regarding Recent Disclosures of Covered Individuals' Identities, February 6, 2009 (unsealed and filed June 9, 2009)
- Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Relief, January 14, 2009 (unsealed and filed June 9, 2009)
- Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal of the Case, June 29, 2007 (unsealed July 20, 2007)
- Court Order dismissing the case, July 28, 2004
- CIA Fraud In State Secrets Assertions by bmaz, Emptywheel, July 20, 2009
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