A federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to rehire 19 intelligence officers who were fired over their temporary assignments working on diversity issues, citing the employees’ constitutional right to due process.

Background

The intelligence officers previously argued their firings were “arbitrary” and “unsupported by any evidentiary record whatsoever.” They maintained that they should have been reassigned to new duties instead of being penalized for jobs a previous administration ordered them to carry out.

Attorneys representing the government argued that the head of the CIA and the director of national intelligence had unfettered authority to terminate employees with or without cause. However, the three-judge panel ruled in a 2-1 decision that the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence failed to abide by their own regulations when they fired the officers.

Kevin Carroll, the lawyer representing the intelligence officers in the case, welcomed the court’s decision, stating, “We are gratified by the Court of Appeals upholding the District Court’s injunction. Intelligence officers have due process rights, too.”

The judges’ ruling said the key question before the court was whether the intelligence agencies’ termination rules granted an employee the right to be considered for reassignment and to appeal a termination decision. The appeals court found that it does.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.