Court Orders Trump Administration to Rehire 19 Fired Intelligence Employees
A U.S. federal appellate court has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to reinstate intelligence agency employees who were fired due to their temporary work on diversity issues. The court concluded that the intelligence agencies were obligated to ensure employees' constitutional right to due process, NBC News reports.
A panel of three judges ruled by a 2-1 majority that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence failed to follow their own internal rules when they dismissed 19 career intelligence employees.
Previously, these employees claimed their dismissals were "arbitrary" and "unsupported by any evidence." They also insisted that instead of being punished for carrying out tasks assigned by the previous administration, they should have been reassigned to other positions.
Government lawyers argued that CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the Director of National Intelligence have unlimited authority to fire employees with or without stating reasons.
Intelligence employees' attorney Kevin Carroll welcomed the court's decision.
"We are pleased that the appellate court upheld the injunction issued by the district court. Intelligence employees also have the right to due process," Carroll said.
According to him, the CIA Director and acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte now "must return these good Americans to work for the benefit of our country."
The judges' decision noted that the key issue was whether the dismissal rules in intelligence agencies grant employees the right to consider reassignment and the right to challenge dismissal decisions.
"We concluded that such a right exists," the appellate court stated.
At the same time, it is currently unknown when the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence employees will be reinstated and assigned to new positions. The Trump administration is expected to appeal this decision.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp pages on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.
