We represent on appeal Karen Thompson, a Treasury Department employee who blew the whistle on a supervisor (Armstrong) who had improperly accessed law enforcement databases multiple times for personal reasons. This resulted in another agency withdrawing its offer of employment to Armstrong, who then sued Thompson for “intentional interference with prospective employment relations,” and was awarded more than $500,000 by a Superior Court jury. In April 2016, the D.C. Court of Appeals agreed with us that Mr. Armstrong was a public official, and Ms. Thompson’s speech was therefore protected by the First Amendment. Armstrong sought Supreme Court review, which was denied in October 2016.
