cardiomd

The Rutherford Institute: VICTORY: Failing to Support Security Threat Claim, TSA Dismisses Case Against Muslim-American Pilot After Rutherford Institute Intervenes

From the article:
Anybody have an inside story on this? It sounds horrible, and the worst kind of intimidation -- failure to produce any substantive evidence for the charges.

Of course, it is a press release, but issues like this can be swept under the rug unless everybody (pilots, public, lawyers, lawmakers) are made aware of transgressions.

Changed circumstances = bad publicity? I reserve strong judgment but I'm very suspicious.

rickair7777

It's possible the TSA was off the reservation in this case.

It's also entirely possible (and not uncommon) that the intelligence sources which led to this action in the first place are very sensitive and cannot be divulged in an open court. In that scenario the government has to decide whether to blow the source or to let someone off the hook to protect the source.

But I suspect the guy is innocent, if he was a bad guy he probably would have absconded overseas when he found out they were on to him. The fact that he stayed and forced the issue supports that.

pokey9554

Amazing! It surprises me that while pushing democracy in other countries, we continue to lose our rights here at home.

rickair7777

We don't know the full story here. It could have been anything from a TSA employee with a vendetta, to an anonymous tip, to association with known bad guys at the mosque, or legitimate but classified intelligence information. In the case of that latter, they would not legally be able to let the guy have access to the information against him...he obviously doesn't have a security clearance.

Also, for your own clarification...

Flying airplanes has NEVER been a right, like driving but more so, it has always been categorized as a privilege. This means that the standards of proof and due process for pulling your tickets is low to zero, and almost any fed can do it for almost any reason. You cannot appeal to a real court with a jury of your peers, only to the NTSB, which almost always rubber stamps the FAA decision. A lawsuit in federal court would probably get rejected due to lack of jurisdiction.

In the case of TSA pulling your tickets, there is no outside appeal process that I am aware of. You can only appeal to the TSA itself.

IMO this might be OK for private pilots, but for professionals it is a bit Orwellian since your livelihood is on the line. I'm just elaborating for own enlightenment as to exactly where you (and the rest of us) stand on this.

cardiomd

Exactly. I also reserve judgment, but the whole thing smacks of abuse of TSA privilege, a government agency, without due process or even knowing charges, which is *fundamentally* un-American.

After the fact, if the pilot is no longer deemed a threat, he should at least know the nature of the charges. If the "anonymous source" needs to be still protected (after false or unsubstantiated information?) they should just say as much. Perhaps they want to continue to monitor the guy.

Paradoxically NOW the pilot is probably much more of a threat, now he might be pi$$ed off at the government for abusing his livelihood. Obviously the vast, vast majority of people wouldn't / can't do anything about it, but the TSA could even provide fuel for some terrorists at this point, providing stories like this for the small minority that want to paint America as an oppressor of the Muslim world.

For the other cases you mentioned, they should just come clean (rogue TSA employee, anonymous tip, etc.) We need an open and responsible government that does not trample rights for "security."

rickair7777

I agree they should offer an explanation, even if it is simply that classified intelligence is involved. They should probably also pay the guy back wages.

The problem is that there is no oversight on TSA, since this is administrative, not criminal, in nature. There should be a review process by a federal judge with a security clearance.

pokey9554

Here's what we DO know:
He wasn't arrested. He posseses an ATP, and two other pages of certificates on the FAA website. He had to "lawyer up" to get anything accomplished. Also, because his certificates were returned to him, we know for a fact, someone screwed up. So, I would like to see some accountability on the part of the TSA.

Flying an airplane for a living is a job, not a privilege. As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, people have the right to work. When you are inappropriately stripped of your "license" to work, you are stripped of your work. It also looks to me like a blatant disregard for the fourth ammendment. These, are what I call losing our rights.