Law.com – TSA Backs Off Demand to Blogger for Source of Leaked Security Directive
The Transportation Security Administration backed down Thursday from its demand that an Internet travel writer immediately provide information on how he obtained an airline security directive.
Anthony Elia, attorney for writer Chris Elliott, said the TSA extended the response period through Jan. 20. The TSA subpoena, dated Tuesday, originally demanded a response by New Year's Eve.
Elia now has the option of challenging the subpoena in federal court or negotiating a settlement with the TSA.
Elliott, from Winter Springs, Fla., said TSA agents had showed up at his house, demanding that he reveal who leaked the security directive that followed a Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner. The directive included security measures that quickly became apparent to many travelers.
The administrative subpoena — a demand for information issued without a judge's approval — is a civil, not a criminal document. If Elliott refuses to comply, the TSA could ask a judge to hold the writer in contempt.
TSA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, had no immediate comment Thursday.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said her organization is supporting Elliott.
via Law.com – TSA Backs Off Demand to Blogger for Source of Leaked Security Directive.
