The Oscar-winning screenwriter Mark Boal is suing US president Barack Obama and the country’s federal government, according to Variety. Boal, who also wrote the screenplay for The Hurt Locker, has filed a lawsuit in response to the subpoenaing of interviews he conducted with former prisoner of war (PoW) Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years and subsequently accused of deserting the US army.
The Pentagon have demanded the full 25 hours of Boal’s audio, some of which aired as part of the second season of the podcast Serial, to use in the court martial proceedings for Bergdahl.
“I support the army, but this particular military prosecutor’s tactics contradict and undermine the stated principles and policies of the commander and chief and the attorney general to protect first amendment rights,” said Boal.
“It’s Orwellian and bizarre.”
The lawsuit is against Obama, defence secretary Ash Carter and army prosecutor Justin Oshana. Boal’s production company, Page 1, received a subpoena earlier this year demanding the unedited conversations by May — a request that Boal failed to meet.
“Mark Boal fully supports the military justice system and believes that Bergdahl has to face the music in a fair judicial process,” said his lawyer, Jean-Paul Jassy.
“But Boal is a civilian and a journalist, and under the first amendment he should not be hauled into a military court to divulge his unpublished and confidential materials.”
Boal is now seeking an injunction to prevent the subpoena.
