- Apr 24, 2013
- 1,200
- Content source
- http://rt.com/usa/216787-citizenfour-lawsuit-kansas-edwards/
A recently released documentary about former government contractor Edward Snowden is being considered a potential candidate for the Academy Awards next year, but all isn’t well for the team behind the flick “Citizenfour.”
Attorneys representing a Kansas man filed a civil suit in District Court on Friday last week in which they allege that Snowden, movie director Laura Poitras and others involved in making “Citizenfour” intentionally violated federal law by profiting off of the disclosure of state secrets.
“This is an action on behalf of the American people to seek prompt imposition of the Supreme Court’s essential financial remedy – a constructive trust – to redress unjust enrichment by ensuring that ill-gotten gains are disgorged,” begins the civil action complaint. “This deters breaches of fiduciary duty, addresses irreparable damage to the safety of the American people and prevents dangerous disruption of foreign affairs due to irresponsible conduct of disloyal government operatives and entertainment industry collaborators.”
According to the suit, Snowden and the film’s production team ran afoul of a 1979 Supreme Court decision in which the nation’s top justices agreed by a 6-3 vote that First Amendment rights don’t protect Americans from instances in which their speech breaches any “constructive trust” existing between the government and an agent privy to its inner workings.
In the case of Citizenfour, the plaintiff — Horace B. Williams, a former secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation and a retired Navy officer who once held a security clearance — says Snowden broke his agreement with the US government because he and the film crew will make a “covet financial gain for their misconduct,” namely discussing classified documents in a manner that makes them available to potential audiences of “foreign enemies.”
Read more: http://rt.com/usa/216787-citizenfour-lawsuit-kansas-edwards/
