TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Brittany Sims on Jan 21, 2015

The Supreme Court today ruled that a former air marshal who was fired after leaking plans to the media about security cutbacks can seek whistleblower protection. By a 7-2 vote, the justices said Robert MacLean did not violate federal law when he revealed that the Transportation Security Administration planned to save money by cutting back on overnight trips for undercover air marshals. MacLean leaked the information in 2003 to an MSNBC reporter after supervisors ignored his safety concerns. His disclosure triggered outrage in Congress, and the Department of Homeland Security quickly reversed the policy, calling it a mistake, but TSA fired McLean three years later after it discovered he was the leaker. WRCB has more from the Associated Press.