Montgomery v. Comey
Montgomery v. Comey
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs, Dennis Montgomery ("Montgomery") and Larry Klayman ("Klayman")
*162filed the instant action against three federal agencies-the Federal Bureau of Investigations ("FBI"), the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA"), and the National Security Agency ("NSA")-as well as seven current and former government officials-former President Barack Obama ("Obama"), Director of National Intelligence ("DNI") Daniel Coats ("Coats"), former DNI James Clapper ("Clapper"), CIA Director Mike Pompeo ("Pompeo"), former CIA Director John Brennan ("Brennan"), NSA Director Michael Rogers ("Rogers"), and former FBI director James Comey ("Comey"). Compl. [Dkt. # 1] ¶¶ 5-16. Plaintiffs allege that defendants have engaged in "ongoing illegal, unconstitutional surveillance of millions of Americans," including high-profile Americans, such as the Chief Justice of the United States, President Donald J. Trump, other judges and justices across the nation, and prominent businessmen. Id. at ¶ 18. Plaintiffs claim that they, too, were targeted by this surveillance based on the fact that their personal and business computers and cell phones were allegedly "hacked" by computers used by the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of Defense ("DOD"). Id. at ¶¶ 43-48, 56-62. According to plaintiffs, the FBI, under Comey's direction, sought to "cover-up" its wrongdoing by inducing Montgomery to turn over 47 computer hard drives containing evidence of the illegal surveillance. Id. at ¶¶ 28-37. They also claim that the FBI has refused to investigate plaintiffs' claims or return the incriminating hard drives. Id.
Based on this allegedly unlawful conduct by defendants, Klayman and Montgomery assert constitutional claims for violations of their First and Fourth Amendment rights, as well as common law tort claims for conversion and fraudulent misrepresentation. Id. at ¶¶ 67-80, 96-101, 109-20. They also seek injunctive relief and appointment of a special master to "conduct a real and through[sic] investigation of the information contained on the hard drives" and of "Defendants' attempts to and/or actual hacks of Plaintiff Klayman's Verizon Wireless cellular phone and Plaintiff Montgomery's computer." Id. at ¶¶ 81-95, 102-08.
These cases are before the Court on the Government Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and for Partial Summary Judgment, the Individual-Capacity Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, and Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Upon consideration of the parties' submissions, and the entire record herein, defendants' motions are GRANTED, plaintiffs' motion is DENIED, and plaintiffs' complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice.
BACKGROUND
This case-according to plaintiffs-is a "continuation" of three other lawsuits previously filed in this Court, in which Klayman has alleged that the federal government and its agents have engaged in a "pattern and practice of illegally and unconstitutionally spying on millions of Americans." Pls.' Opp'n to Gov't Defs.' Mot. Dismiss & Mot. for Partial Summ. J. & Resp. to Opp'n to Mot for TRO [Dkt. # 33] ("Pls' Opp'n") 1; Compl. ¶ 6. Two of those lawsuits-which have come to be known as "Klayman I " and "Klayman II "-have already been dismissed with prejudice, see Klayman v. National Security Agency , Civ. A. Nos. 13-851(RJL), 13-881(RJL),
The general theme of this action is similar to the previous three, and is a veritable anthology of conspiracy theorists' complaints. According to plaintiffs, "each and every" defendant has engaged in "ongoing illegal, unconstitutional surveillance of millions of Americans, including prominent Americans such as the [C]hief [J]ustice of the U.S. Supreme Court, other justices, 156 judges, prominent businessmen and others such as Donald J. Trump, as well as Plaintiffs themselves." Id. at ¶ 18. Plaintiffs claim that defendants have conducted-and continue to conduct-this surveillance "in numerous ways, including but not limited to, bulk telephony metadata collection similar to the now 'discontinued' Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT ACT as well as targeted 'PRISM' collection under Section 702 of the Foreign [Intelligence Surveillance] Act."Id. at ¶ 20. Plaintiffs further claim that "each and every" defendant in this case has covered up the ongoing surveillance "by coordinating 'leaks' of sensitive information pertaining to those who may dare to oppose them or reveal their illegal, unconstitutional activities." Id. at ¶ 28.
Plaintiff Montgomery is a former NSA, CIA, and DNI contractor who has allegedly engaged in whistleblowing regarding defendants' unconstitutional surveillance. Id. at ¶ 33. He claims that, on August 19, 2015, he was induced by the FBI, under the direction of Comey, to turn over 47 hard drives, valued in excess of $50,000, which allegedly contained evidence of defendants' unconstitutional mass surveillance. Id. at ¶¶ 37-38. Specifically, this evidence consisted of 600,000,000 pages of data on over 20 million Americans, much of which was collected on behalf of the U.S. Government on computers supplied by the FBI. See Amended Aff. of Dennis Montgomery in Supp. of Pls.' Mot. TRO & Prelim. Inj. ("Montgomery Aff.") [Dkt. # 9] ¶ 4. Montgomery alleges that he only gave the hard drives to the FBI because the FBI expressly promised that it would conduct an investigation of the mass surveillance. Compl. ¶ 38. Former General Counsel of the FBI, James Baker ("Baker"), allegedly assured plaintiffs that Comey was taking "hands on" supervision of the Montgomery investigation, given its importance. Id. at p. 3. Comey and the FBI, however, never conducted the investigation, and Montgomery alleges that they are concealing the hard drives in order "to ensure that the evidence contained therein is not investigated or revealed to the public and prosecuted." Id. at ¶ 39.
Montgomery also claims that, on or around December 21, 2015, he was interviewed under oath at the FBI field office in Washington, D.C. Id. at ¶ 40. During that three-hour interview, which was recorded on videotape, Montgomery set forth the NSA, CIA, and DNI's pattern and practice of unconstitutional mass surveillance. Id. Although plaintiffs have contacted Baker numerous times regarding the status of the Montgomery investigation, they have been ignored. Id. at ¶ 41. Plaintiffs have, however, advised Baker not to destroy the evidence on Montgomery's hard drives or the evidence contained in Montgomery's oral testimony. Id. at ¶ 42. On March 27, 2017, Montgomery sent a Privacy Act of 1974 disclosure request to the FBI, pursuant to
*164
Montgomery also alleges that, on an unspecified date, the FBI "raid[ed his] house, [tied him] to a tree, threaten[ed] him and his family, and search[ed] and seiz[ed his] property without a valid warrant or probable cause."
Since these events, Montgomery claims he has been the victim of multiple hacking attempts against his home and business computers, as well as his Apple account, by each of the defendants in this ease.
Plaintiff Klayman is a self-described "prominent public interest attorney who was the founder of Judicial Watch, Inc. and now Freedom Watch Inc." Compl. ¶ 53. Klayman has brought several lawsuits against the federal government, its agencies, and its officers for allegedly unconstitutionally spying on him and other Americans.
In particular, Klayman alleges that, "almost immediately after" he contacted the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee regarding the FBI's cover-up of Montgomery's evidence, he "received a purported 'software update' on his Samsung Galaxy" cell phone.
In May 2017, however, Klayman's new phone began acting abnormally as well. In addition to the battery drainage problem, *165his phone began "erasing and downloading files on its own and without [his] consent."
Based on these allegations, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on June 5, 2017, alleging eight claims for relief against the federal agencies and individual defendants. See Compl. Plaintiffs have sued the individual defendants in both their official capacities and their individual capacities, pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics ,
I held a hearing in this case on June 23, 2017, during which I consolidated plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction into a motion for a preliminary injunction. See Status Hr'g Tr. 29:1-7, June 23, 2017. I also set a briefing schedule for defendants to submit any motions to dismiss, and I informed the parties that I would rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction and any motions to dismiss simultaneously. See Min. Order, June 27, 2017. The Government defendants subsequently moved to dismiss and for partial summary judgment, and the individual defendants moved to dismiss the claims against them in their individual capacities. See Gov't Defs.' Mem. of P. & A. in Supp. of Mots. Dismiss & for Partial Summ. J. & in Opp'n to Pls.' Mot. TRO & Prelim. Inj. [Dkt. # 27-1] ("Gov't Defs.' Mem."); Mem. in Supp. of Individual-Capacity Defs.' Mot. Dismiss [Dkt. # 36-1] ("Individual Defs.' Mem."). Those motions-as well as plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction-are now ripe.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
A. Motion to Dismiss
The Government defendants have moved to dismiss Count VI of plaintiffs' complaint, which requests the appointment of a special master, for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). To survive defendants' motion, plaintiffs' "[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly ,
*166Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano ,
Defendants have also moved to dismiss Counts I-III, V, VII, and VIII of plaintiffs' complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1). In ruling on such a motion, I "may consider the complaint alone or may consider materials beyond the pleadings," Bickford v. Gov't of U.S. ,
B. Motion for Summary Judgment
The Government defendants have moved for partial summary judgment on Count VI of plaintiffs' complaint, which seeks to compel the FBI to comply with Montgomery's Privacy Act request. Under Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this Court should render summary judgment in favor of defendants unless the pleadings, and any attachments to the pleadings, establish a "genuine dispute as to any material fact." The moving party bears the initial burden of identifying evidence that demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact. Celolex Corp. v. Catrett ,
C. Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction, and thus they must establish "[1] that [they are] likely to succeed on the merits, [2] that [they are] likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, [3] that the balance of equities tips in [their] favor, and [4] that an injunction is in the public interest." Aamer v. Obama ,
DISCUSSION
A. Count I: Fourth Amendment Violation
Much like their claims in Klayman I and Klayman II , plaintiffs allege that the individual-capacity defendants violated the Fourth Amendment by unreasonably searching and seizing their personal records, *167as well as the records of "millions of innocent U.S. citizens," without reasonable suspicion or probable cause and without describing with particularity the place to be searched or the person or things to be seized. Compl. ¶¶ 69-70. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that the NSA collected their electronic communications using three distinct methods: (1) the PRISM program,
First, plaintiffs' standing to challenge defendants' alleged surveillance under the PRISM program is clearly foreclosed by the Supreme Court's decision in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA ,
In fact, plaintiffs have not even alleged-in their complaint, their Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, or their supporting affidavits-that they communicate with any persons abroad, let alone that they have reason to believe that their foreign contacts have been targeted under the PRISM program. Plaintiffs' allegations here are therefore even less colorable than those I dismissed for lack of standing under Clapper in Klayman I and Klayman II. See Klayman ,
Second, plaintiffs claim that they, and millions of other Americans, have been targeted for surveillance by the bulk telephony metadata collection program formerly conducted by the NSA pursuant to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. See Klayman ,
Third, plaintiffs allege that their personal cell phones and computers have been hacked by defendants, and that Montgomery has traced the IP addresses of the hacks to the NSA, the DOD, and the CIA. Compl. ¶¶ 43-47, 60-64, 86-87, 95. But plaintiffs' only support for these allegations is Montgomery's own opinion that *169his computer and Klayman's phone showed signs of being hacked. Compl. ¶¶ 43-47, 60-61. Without more, these sparse allegations are "similar to those in a number of cases that district courts have dismissed for patent insubstantiality: that plaintiff was subjected to a campaign of surveillance and harassment" by the Government. Tooley v. Napolitano ,
B. Count II: First Amendment Violation
In addition to their Fourth Amendment challenge to defendants' alleged surveillance programs, plaintiffs also challenge those programs under the First Amendment. Specifically, Klayman alleges that he has "suffered a chilling effect in his First Amendment rights" because he and his clients, including Montgomery, are "afraid to speak over the phone and communicate otherwise for fear of being surveilled by Defendants." Id. at ¶ 32. Klayman further asserts that his attorney-client privilege with his clients has been compromised as a result of defendants' surveillance of his communications. Id. Plaintiffs also broadly contend that defendants' alleged actions "chill, if not 'kill' speech" and violate their freedom of association by making "over a hundred million of Americans" afraid to contact other persons via cell phone, the internet, or social media. Id. at ¶¶ 76-77. Unfortunately for plaintiffs, I find that they lack standing to pursue this First Amendment claim. Flow so?
The basis of plaintiffs' First Amendment claim is that the government has engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful surveillance that has caused a chilling effect on their associations and communications and has caused them to fear being spied on by the government. Id. at ¶¶ 32, 76-77. But in order to establish that defendants' conduct caused a chilling effect sufficient to constitute a First Amendment violation, plaintiffs must first sufficiently allege that they have reason to believe that they were actually surveilled. As I have already concluded, however, plaintiffs have not made this showing. Instead, plaintiffs' assertions that they "are afraid to speak over the phone" because the Government may be monitoring their communications, Compl. ¶ 32, constitute nothing more than a subjective-and baseless-fear of surveillance, which the Supreme Court has held to be insufficient to confer standing in the First Amendment context. See Clapper ,
C. Count IV: Appointment of a Special Master
Plaintiffs next request that this Court "appoint a Special Master with the appropriate security clearance to conduct a real and [thorough] investigation of the information contained on the hard drives" that Montgomery gave to the FBI and of the hacks of Klayman's cell phone and Montgomery's computer. Compl. ¶¶ 94-95. Appointment of a special master in this context, however, would be inappropriate under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Gov't Defs.' Mem. 28.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53(a)(1), a district court may appoint a special master only to:
"(A) perform duties consented to by the parties;
(B) hold trial proceedings and make or recommend findings of fact on issues to be decided without a jury if appointment is warranted by:
(i) some exceptional condition; or
(ii) the need to perform an accounting or resolve a difficult computation of damages; or
(C) address pretrial and posttrial matters that cannot be effectively and timely addressed by an available district judge or magistrate judge of the district."
None of these circumstances are present in this case. Defendants have understandably made clear that they do not consent to the appointment of a special master. See Gov't Defs.' Mem. 29. And plaintiffs are requesting a special master to "conduct a real and through[sic] investigation of the information contained on the hard drives," so the damages provision of Rule 53(a)(1) is not applicable. Compl. ¶¶ 94-95. Similarly, plaintiffs have not alleged-and I have no reason to believe-that this Court is ill-equipped to address any pretrial matters in an effective and timely manner. Cf. Madrigal Audio Labs., Inc. v. Cello, Ltd. ,
D. Count V: Conversion
Plaintiffs' fifth cause of action alleges a claim of common law conversion. Specifically, Montgomery alleges that the FBI, under the direction of Comey, induced him to turn over 47 hard drives containing evidence of defendants' illegal surveillance, and he requests that I issue an order requiring defendants either to return the hard drives to him or to compensate him "with the fair market value of the hard drives at the time of the conversion." Id. at ¶ 101. Unfortunately for plaintiffs, I find that they have failed to properly allege a claim for conversion because the FBI and Comey-in his official capacity-are immune from suit.
*171It is axiomatic that "[t]he United States, as sovereign, is immune from suit save as it consents to be sued ..., and the terms of its consent to be sued in any court define that court's jurisdiction to entertain the suit." United States v. Mitchell ,
Here, plaintiffs have failed to name the United States as a defendant. Instead, they have sued a government agency-the FBI-and a government official-Comey. See Compl. p. 28. Plaintiffs' failure to name the United States as a defendant therefore "requires dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction" because plaintiffs have not established a waiver of sovereign immunity under the FTCA. Johnson v. Veterans Affairs Med. Ctr. ,
E. Count VI: Injunctive Relief Under the Privacy Act of 1974
In Count VI of the Complaint, plaintiffs seek to compel the FBI to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 and turn over all documentation related to Montgomery's interview with the FBI. Compl. at ¶ 108. Specifically, plaintiffs seek "any and all documents that refer or relate in any way to any and all 302 reports of [Montgomery's] interview" with the FBI. Id. at ¶ 103. I find, however, that the requested records are exempt from disclosure under the Privacy Act, and thus I must grant summary judgment in defendants' favor.
The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, "regulates the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals by federal agencies."
*172Mobley v. CIA ,
Here, the 302 reports that plaintiffs seek fall squarely within exemption (j)(2). The FBI is an agency that "performs as its principal function ... the enforcement of criminal law[s]."
F. Count VII: Fraudulent Misrepresentation
Plaintiffs next claim that the FBI, "at the direction of and under the leadership of Defendant Comey," falsely represented to Montgomery that the FBI would conduct an investigation into the evidence contained on his hard drives and in his oral testimony. Id. at ¶ 110. They allege that the FBI made this false representation with knowledge of its falsity and with an intent to deceive Montgomery in order to induce him to turn over his hard drives and provide testimony under oath. Id. at ¶ 111. Unfortunately for plaintiffs, their claim for fraudulent misrepresentation suffers the same fate as their claim for conversion.
Fraudulent misrepresentation, like conversion, is a common-law tort claim that *173may only be asserted against the United States pursuant to a waiver of sovereign immunity under the FTCA. And "the United States is the only proper defendant in an [FTCA] action." Springer ,
G. Count VIII: Fourth Amendment Violation
The second Fourth Amendment claim in this case is different in kind from the first, but it ultimately must suffer the same fate. Montgomery claims that the FBI violated his Fourth Amendment rights when its agents raided his home, tied him to a tree, threatened him and his family, and searched and seized his property without probable cause or a warrant. Compl. ¶ 117. To compensate him for his alleged injuries, he seeks an award of compensatory and actual damages in excess of $3 million, and punitive damages in excess of $30 million. Id. at ¶ 120. I have concluded, however, that Montgomery's claim is barred. How so?
The Supreme Court has made clear that "[f]ederal constitutional claims for damages are cognizable only under Bivens [,
H. Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction
In Count III of their Complaint, plaintiffs request preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to stop the government from wiretapping and surveilling them in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. Compl. ¶¶ 81-88. In their Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, plaintiffs request additional equitable relief that encompasses Counts V, VI, and VII of their Complaint. Specifically, plaintiffs request that I issue an order enjoining defendants from: (1) destroying evidence of their constitutional violations contained on Montgomery's hard drives; (2) destroying documents related to Montgomery's interview with the FBI; and (3) continuing their conversion of Montgomery's hard drives. Pls.' Mot. 15-16. Unfortunately for plaintiffs, I find that they have not met their burden for a preliminary injunction for any of the relief that they seek.
To begin with, plaintiffs cannot show a likelihood of success on the merits
Plaintiffs also have not shown that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction. Because I have already concluded that plaintiffs' allegations of government surveillance and hacking arc speculative, at best, those allegations necessarily cannot support a finding of irreparable harm. See Brown v. Dist. of Columbia ,
Finally, plaintiffs have not shown that the balance of equities weighs in favor of granting a preliminary injunction here. Plaintiffs' primary argument on this point is that, without preservation of the hard drives and the interview tapes, they "will lose the material evidence in this case." Pls.' Mot. 18. But as I have already explained, the Government has represented to this Court that there is a litigation hold preventing the destruction of either the hard drives or the interview tapes. There is accordingly no need for a preliminary injunction to ensure that plaintiffs' material evidence is preserved. Plaintiffs also claim that public interest considerations counsel in favor of issuing an injunction here because " '[i]t is always in the public interest to prevent the violation of a party's constitutional rights.' " Id. at 19 (quoting Am. Freedom Def. Initiative v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth. ,
CONCLUSION
This case marks what I expect will be the end of this Court's role in adjudicating plaintiff Klayman's challenges to the Government's various surveillance programs. While the diligence with which Klayman has sought to protect Americans' constitutional rights against Government overreach over the last four and a half years is admirable, the allegations in this case, though sincerely advanced, are largely frivolous and duplicative of ones I have already found to be insufficient in Klayman I and Klayman II . As such, I have no choice but to dismiss this case as well.
Thus, for all the reasons stated herein, the Government Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED, the Individual Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, and Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is DENIED. Plaintiffs' complaint is accordingly DISMISSED with prejudice. A separate Order consistent with this decision accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
The FD-302 "is an internal form used by the FBI to document interviews conducted in law enforcement investigations." Deck of David M. Hardy ("Hardy Deck") [Dkt. 27-5] ¶ 22.
The PRISM program is an ongoing targeted collection program conducted pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA"). See 50 U.S.C. § 1881a. Under the PRISM program, the Government uses selectors-like e-mail addresses-to collect online communications of non-U.S. persons located abroad. See Klayman ,
Beginning in May 2006, and pursuant to its authority under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Government conducted the bulk telephony metadata program that plaintiffs challenge today. See Pub. T. No. 107-56,
As I already noted in Klayman I and Klayman II , even if defendants tried to resurrect the Section 215 bulk collection program in the future, the FISC has already made clear that it would not sanction such surveillance. See Klayman ,
There is tension in the case law regarding whether a plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must show a "likelihood of success on the merits" or a "substantial likelihood of success on the merits." Compare Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. ,
Our Circuit has traditionally evaluated the four factors required for a preliminary injunction on a "sliding scale," such that, "[i]f the movant makes an unusually strong showing on one of the factors, then it does not necessarily have to make as strong a showing on another factor." Davis v. Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dennis MONTGOMERY v. James COMEY
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published