Former FBI Director James Comey pleads not guilty to lying to Congress
Former FBI Director James Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and obstructing Congress in Alexandria, Virginia.
WASHINGTON – A longtime former Federal Bureau of Investigation employee is suing the agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging he was fired for displaying a Progress Pride flag in his office, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
David Martinski, who has worked for the FBI as an intelligence specialist since 2009, displayed a flag in his office that was flown in front of the FBI’s Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles in 2021, saying it was a gift from the agency itself, according to the complaint. It also said Martinski had had the flag displayed in his office for several years with the permission of his two bosses.
Citing Martinski’s termination letter, the complaint alleges that FBI Director Kash Patel wrongfully fired him in October for “improper judgment during his previous employment in the Los Angeles field office, including inappropriately displaying political signs at his workplace.”
“I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but because I am a proud gay man,” Martinski said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to attack diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government, with the FBI laying off employees for unprecedented amounts.
“It’s clear that David is being targeted by Kash Patel for political reasons,” said Christopher Mattei, a partner at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder and lead attorney representing Martinski. “But that doesn’t turn displaying the Pride flag into a partisan political expression. On the contrary, it was a personal expression of his own identity.”
The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
When Marcinski was fired, he had completed 13 of 16 weeks at the agency’s Special Agent Training Academy in Quantico. Previously, he worked as an intelligence specialist supporting government agencies with public corruption and cybercrime investigations. Marcinski also has received multiple awards for diversity and inclusion at the agency, which he believes is the reason he was fired, he said in a statement.
The complaint says Patel’s actions violated Martinski’s First and Fifth Amendment rights and amounted to retaliation for protected speech, viewpoint discrimination, and denial of equal protection under the law. Matei said Martinski was simply seeking to return to the agency.
(Reporting by David Hood-Nuño; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
