United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The Board did not address MacLean’s challenges to Donzanti’s credibility,
and as discussed above erred by refusing to receive evidence on post-hearing
developments leaving no doubt he acted as the messenger for decisions by
subordinates of Quinn, who had obsessive animus against FLEOA and MacLean.
The AJ and Board failed to consider and refused evidence demonstrating that
Donzanti had a motive to cooperate, since he had been accused of sexual
harassment and subsequent quid pro quo arrangements for which he was not held
accountable until after Quinn’s departure.
The Board further erred by not addressing contradictions between
Donzanti’s words and actions. Woebke, 114 M.S.P.R. at 105 While asserting he
lost all confidence and trust in MacLean, Donzani treated him like an employee
with an unblemished record for four months interim between ICE/OPR’s notice of
MacLean’s 2003 Meeks disclosure and proposed agency action, continuing to trust
MacLean with unrestricted security responsibilities.
The Board reiterated two findings already addressed: 1) MacLean
intentionally released information that he knew was sensitive, so there was
sufficient notoriety for termination. 2) He did not express remorse, so there was a
risk he would continue to make disclosures. A23-24.
As seen above, while mistaken in hindsight, at the time MacLean and his
peers believed that SSI concerned specific information that would enable terrorists
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