(Newswire.net — December 23, 2014) — Edward Snowden, movie director Laura Poitras and others involved in making “Citizenfour” intentionally violated federal law by profiting from disclosing national secrets, said attorneys who represent a civil suit against Snowden and the film authors.
Attorneys representing a Kansas man filed a civil suit in District Court on Friday last week, in which allegedly the film authors and Snowden, intentionally violated federal law.
“This is an action on behalf of the American people to seek prompt imposition of the Supreme Court’s essential financial remedy, a constructive trust, to redress unjust enrichment by ensuring that ill-gotten gains are disgorged,” begins the civil action complaint.
Reportedly, the suit is against “irresponsible conduct of disloyal government operatives and the entertainment industry collaborators,” which endangered the safety of the American people.
Attorneys cited the 1979 Supreme Court decision in which the nation’s top justices agreed by a 6-3 vote that First Amendment rights don’t protect Americans from instances of breaching a trust between employer and employee especially when it comes to a matter of national security.
While Snowden’s actions are for obvious reason, the attorneys said, glorifying international espionage for profit as well as revealing the stolen CIA/NSA secret documents in the film, represents the solid ground for the lawsuit against the filmmakers.
“Upon information and belief U.S. national security has been seriously damaged, human lives placed at risk or worse, and military and non-military assets compromised not just by Defendant Snowden’s actions but also by the Hollywood Defendants’ direct and indirect participation collaborating with Defendant Snowden to facilitate the dissemination of top-secret documents to foreign enemies,” RT quoted the complaint.
The intelligence data revealed in the film could be worth upwards of billions of dollars, as the US will have to protect the human assets placed at risk, restore/revamp computer infrastructure, rebuild relationships with foreign governments and respond to various enemies“, the suit alleges.
Two months after opening, according to the complaint, the film earned more than $2.1 million, and it’s been nominated for an Academy Award next year.
Meanwhile, The Guardian confirmed that actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has accepted the role of Snowden in Oliver Stone’s forthcoming movie.