Wilson v. CIA, No. 07-4244

In a First Amendment action claiming that the CIA was required to allow former employee Valerie Plame Wilson to publish a memoir about her tenure at the agency, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff, and not the agency, permitted the classified information at issue to be revealed to the public; and 2) further, the public disclosure did not deprive the information of classified status, and the agency demonstrated good reason for adhering to its classification decision. A former CIA agent cannot use her own unauthorized disclosure of classified information to challenge the CIA's ability to maintain the information as classified.

Read Wilson v. CIA, No. 07-4244

Appellate Information

Argued: January 8, 2009

Decided: November 12, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Raggi

Counsel

For Appellants:

David B. Smallman, Smallman & Hans LLP, New York, NY

For Appellees:

Benjamin H. Torrance, Beth E. Goldman, Assistant United States Attorneys, New York, NY