President-elect Donald Trump on “Meet the Press” Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 (NBC News/YouTube).
According to two former members, Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten, President Donald Trump unjustly removed three Democrats from an independent oversight watchdog responsible for reviewing the government’s utilization of surveillance and counterterrorism powers, among other U.S. intelligence operations. The ousted members claim that the President’s actions aim to eliminate a crucial check on the violation of ordinary Americans’ civil liberties.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, LeBlanc and Felten contended on Monday that the President’s actions directly infringe on the separation of powers. They emphasize that by terminating them, there will be a deliberate effort to deprive the Board of a quorum, obstruct transparency on the Administration’s stance on privacy and civil liberties, and impede Congress from obtaining essential information for legislative and executive branch oversight.
Trump removed LeBlanc and Felten from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) alongside another member, Sharon Bradford Franklin, whose term was set to end on Jan. 29. The dismissals occurred during the President’s recent wave of federal firings. In response, the two former members are seeking a ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, appointed by George W. Bush, to declare their ousting as unlawful and to reinstate them to their respective roles.
When Trump took office last month, four of the board’s five seats were filled, according to LeBlanc and Felten. One seat was held by an appointee “affiliated” with the Republican Party and three seats were held by appointees “affiliated” with the Democratic Party.
“Although the Board is required by statute to be bipartisan, the President purported to terminate only the Democratic members, without cause, and to leave the lone Republican member as the sole remaining member of the Board,” LeBlanc and Felten’s complaint says, referencing fellow watchdog Beth Williams, who is named as a defendant, along with Trump.
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“On information and belief, that member — Defendant Williams — encouraged the White House to fire her fellow Board Members, including Plaintiffs LeBlanc and Felten, without cause,” the pair alleges. “President Trump did not fire Plaintiffs in any effort to supervise or direct the officials who wield executive power on his behalf.”
According to LeBlanc and Felten, the PCLOB cannot regulate or impose penalties on anyone, so removing members on the claim that they would go after Trump is wrong and “unlawful.” They say Congress has previously recognized that securing the board’s independence as a nonpartisan privacy watchdog “was essential” in terms of providing recommendations and unbiased advice on existing and proposed legislation. The PCLOB is described in the suit as an “independent body of experts” that reports to the legislative branch and U.S. public on how the government “balances national security activities” with both privacy and civil liberties protections.
“The Board could not carry out these critical functions or provide candid, independent advice to Congress if its members feared that criticizing the executive branch could lead to their dismissal,” LeBlanc and Felten’s complaint says. “Nor could it do so if its members’ views had to be submitted to the executive branch for approval, revision, or censorship.”
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LeBlanc and Felten claim the president should have consulted with congressional leadership before terminating them. While nothing has been written into the statute regarding the PCLOB, the pair says the law’s structure and language indicates that the removal of watchdog leaders at independent agencies is off-limits unless there’s proper cause.
Here, they insist there is none.
“Not only do Plaintiffs’ removals eradicate a vital check on the infringement of ordinary Americans’ civil liberties, they also hobble an agency that Congress created to assist it with oversight of the executive branch,” the pair’s complaint said. “This Court must declare Defendants’ actions unlawful, and reinstate Plaintiffs to their positions on the Board.”
