TSA Withdraws Subpoenas Against Bloggers
Mark Graffis
TSA Withdraws Subpoenas Against Bloggers a.. By Kim Zetter b..
December 31, 2009 | c.. 8:18 pm | d.. Categories: Spooks Gone
Wild e..
TSA Special Agent John Enright, left, speaks to Steven Frischling
outside the blogger's home in Niantic, Connecticut, after returning
Frischling's laptop Wednesday.
Photo: Thomas Cain/Wired.com
In the wake of public outcry against the Transportation Security
Administration for serving civil subpoenas on two bloggers, the
government agency has canceled the legal action and apologized for
the strong-arm tactics agents used.
Travel writer and photographer Steven Frischling, who was served
with a subpoena by two TSA agents on Tuesday, told Threat Level
that he received a phone call Thursday evening from John Drennan,
deputy chief counsel for enforcement at TSA, telling him the
administration was withdrawing its subpoena.
Frischling was told the TSA would no longer be pursuing the
investigation into how he received a security directive that he
published on his personal blog, Flying with Fish, on Dec. 27.
The administration told the Associated Press that its investigation
was nearing a successful conclusion and the subpoenas are no longer
in effect.
Frischling, who writes another blog for KLM Dutch Royal Airlines,
says Drennan apologized to him when he learned that the two TSA
agents who visited him had threatened to get him fired from his KLM
contract if he didnt provide them with information about an anonymous
source who sent him the security directive.
He was a bit taken aback when I was telling him about the heavy
tactics that they were going to use to sever my contract with KLM,
Frischling says.
Drennan also promised to make sure the administration resolved
issues that Frischling has been having with his laptop ever since
the agents seized it to image the hard drive.
Frischling says the laptop was returned to him with tons and tons
of bad sectors and a corrupt operating system. The audio on his
computer has also stopped working, and a red light glows from the
audio jack.
I can essentially use the computer, but I dont know for how long,
he says.
Whoever did this thing, did it fast and dirty and not to my benefit.
A second blogger who was also served a subpoena on Tuesday, Christopher
Elliott, was also told his subpoena was being withdrawn. Elliott
had refused to cooperate with the agent who served him the subpoena
and had indicated to the TSA that he would be challenging the
subpoena in federal court next week.
The TSA issued its security directive after a would-be terrorist
tried to ignite a bomb on an airplane on Dec. 25. The directive,
sent to airports and airlines around the world, temporarily revised
screening procedures and put new restrictions on passengers in the
wake of the attempt by the so-called underwear bomber.
The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous
bloggers.
Information from it was also published on some airline websites.
Frischling said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7
p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search
warrant if he didnt provide the name of his source. They also
indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would
make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.
They came to the door and immediately were asking, Who gave you
this document?, Why did you publish the document? and I dont think
you know how much trouble youre in. It was very much a hardball
tactic, he told Threat Level.
The agents searched through Frischlings BlackBerry and iPhone and
questioned him about a number of phone numbers and messages in the
devices.
The agents then tried to image his hard drive, but were unable to
do so.
Frischling said the keyboard on his laptop was no longer working
after the agents tried to copy his files. The agents left, but
returned Wednesday morning and, with Frischlings consent, seized
his laptop, which they returned that afternoon after copying his
hard drive. Frischling has experienced a number of problems with
the computer since then.
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