DC Circuit limits retaliation protections in FBI suit

07/12/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports a federal appeals court in Washington Wednesday limited the scope of liability in an FBI agent’s retaliation suit against the Bureau.  At issue is the extent to which there can be civil rights liability in the reporting of sensitive information that's used to make a security clearance decision.  Longtime FBI agent Wilfred Rattigan, a black male of Jamaican descent who converted to Islam, is at the center of the dispute.  He contends the bureau retaliated against him – based on a person’s report of alleged suspicious activity – after he raised concerns about alleged discrimination.  The court held that a civil rights claim can proceed in a trial court if the plaintiff can prove that a person knowingly reported false information about a colleague.