The ACLU has sent what they describe as a “friendly reminder” to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), that “we don’t lose our rights to speak, write, and teach when we accept government employment.” The ATF is attempting to prevent the “thought crime” account of Agent John Dodson, one of the ATF insiders who helped bring the operation to public light.
The ACLU sent a letter on Monday to the ATF, according to Rita Cant, an attorney with the ACLU, which has refused to allow Agent Dodson to publish a manuscript about Fast and Furious. Cant writes in a blog post entitled The Ministry of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Truth, “Our letter explains why the denial violates his First Amendment rights and undermines the importance that whistleblowers and public employee speech play in revealing wrongdoing and contributing to public debate.”
According to Cant, “Agent Dodson blew the whistle on the decision to “walk” the guns – alerting Congress after it appeared that two were used in a shootout that killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent. But when he recently asked to publish his own first-hand account of these events, ATF censorship was fast, and it was furious.”
The ATF claimed a right to refuse publication requests “for any reason.” Cant writes that the ATF told Agent Dodson that his book would have “a negative impact on morale in the Phoenix [Field Division] and would have a detremental [sic] effect on our relationships with DEA and FBI.”
Dodson acknowledges that his book could put the ATF under even more scrutiny, but Cant says that the ATF’s concerns are not adequate reason to infringe a “whistleblower’s right to speak – and the public’s right to hear what he has to say.”
“While it’s undoubtedly an embarrassing time to be the ATF, speaking truth to power just isn’t an injury the Constitution recognizes, much less seeks to prevent,” noted Cant. “And it’s not just Agent Dodson’s Constitutional rights on the line. The American public has a stake in this fight, too.”
Cant asserts that protecting employees’ speech is especially crucial when it informs deliberation on matters of public policy. Fast and Furious ignited national debates over gun policy, border security, whistleblower protections, and the “gunwalking” techniques deployed in the operation. Public employee speech is even more valuable when it shares critical views of our government agencies we wouldn’t otherwise see.”
“Americans need and deserve truthful information about what the government is doing, particularly where the activity infringes on individual rights,” said ACLU Policy Counsel Mike German, who – like Dodson – endured years of internal retaliation after blowing the whistle on dangerous federal law enforcement policy.
“I don’t care if you’re on the left or the right. At the end of the day, we have a right to know and talk about what law enforcement agencies do in our name,” said Agent Dodson.
Cant concludes that protecting Agent Dodson’s right to speak should be a priority issue for civil libertarians, regardless of the political stripe.