(José Niño, Headline USA) Gilman Barndollar, a senior fellow at a Washington think tank, is challenging the CIA in federal court after the agency denied his security clearance, raising questions about free speech and government transparency.
Barndollar, a Marine Reserve officer and senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Defense Priorities, is suing the CIA after the agency denied him a security clearance.
The CIA claims Barndollar failed to disclose all his published writings and media appearances, including four guest spots on Tucker Carlson’s now-defunct Fox News show.
Gil Barndollar: "We have a war that Congress never authorized & they're climbing over each other to denounce @POTUS for trying to end it"
Tucker Carlson: "They didn't have the courage to make it official…& now they have the chutzpah to lecture anyone who's not in favor of it." pic.twitter.com/QjN7ML6s3H
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) October 9, 2019
Barndollar, who has written extensively on military and intelligence issues for Defense Priorities and Foreign Policy magazine, insists he was fully transparent about his activities and argues that the agency’s actions violate his First Amendment rights.
As the plaintiff in this case, Barndollar claims the CIA improperly collected and used information about his constitutionally protected speech and professional writings, which formed the basis for denying his security clearance.
“The Defendant either intentionally, recklessly, or with callous indifference to the federally protected rights of the Plaintiff has threatened, silenced, and/or chilled Plaintiff’s rights to freedom of speech and association by using Plaintiff’s career as the basis to deny him his security clearance and position in the CIA,” the lawsuit, Barndollar v. Central Intelligence Agency, noted.
On top of that, Barndollar claims that the CIA violated the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) during the security clearance investigation and adjudication process.
“To date, the Defendant has not responded to the Privacy Act and FOIA request, in excess of 180 days,” the lawsuit alleged.
Earlier this week, @defpriorities senior fellow Gil Barndollar spoke with Tucker Carlson on Fox News about why removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible is a good idea.
Read more here: https://t.co/FGYPgrEFbg pic.twitter.com/voG838Ijf5
— Defense Priorities (@defpriorities) November 20, 2020
Moreover, Barndollar asserts that the CIA illegally withheld records requested under the FOIA, including documents connected to the denial of his security clearance.
As part of Defense Priorities, Barndollar has been skeptical of interventionist strains of foreign policy thought. He has written extensively about the United States’ inability to field troops in a potential conflict and the country’s struggles with shipbuilding, which could potentially hamper its ability to confront China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Barndollar’s legal battle could have lasting implications for how public-facing experts navigate the security clearance process in an era of heightened political scrutiny.
His lawsuit can be read here.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
