United States v. Moloney , 685 F.3d 1 ( 2012 )


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  •           United States Court of Appeals
    For the First Circuit
    No. 11-2511
    IN RE: REQUEST FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM PURSUANT TO THE TREATY
    BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE
    GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM ON MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL
    MATTERS IN THE MATTER OF DOLOURS PRICE
    UNITED STATES,
    Petitioner, Appellee,
    v.
    ED MOLONEY; ANTHONY McINTYRE,
    Movants, Appellants.
    No. 12-1159
    ED MOLONEY; ANTHONY McINTYRE,
    Plaintiffs, Appellants,
    v.
    ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General;
    JACK W. PIROZZOLO, Commissioner,
    Defendants, Appellees.
    APPEALS FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
    [Hon. William G. Young, U.S. District Judge]
    Before
    Lynch, Chief Judge,
    Torruella and Boudin, Circuit Judges.
    Eamonn Dornan, with whom Dornan & Associates PLLC and James J.
    Cotter III were on brief, for appellants.
    Barbara Healy Smith, Assistant United States Attorney, with
    whom Carmen M. Ortiz, United States Attorney, and John T. McNeil,
    Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief, for appellee.
    July 6, 2012
    -2-
    LYNCH, Chief Judge.         These consolidated appeals are from
    the   denial,    in    two   cases,      of        the    efforts     of    two   academic
    researchers to prevent the execution of two sets of subpoenas
    issued in May and August of 2011.                    The subpoenas were issued to
    Boston College ("BC") by a commissioner appointed pursuant to 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
     and the "US-UK MLAT," the mutual legal assistance
    treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom.                                The
    subpoenas     are     part   of    an        investigation       by    United     Kingdom
    authorities into the 1972 abduction and death of Jean McConville,
    who was thought to have acted as an informer for the British
    authorities on the activities of republicans in Northern Ireland.
    This appears to be the first court of appeals decision to deal with
    an MLAT and § 3512.
    The May 2011 subpoenas sought oral history recordings and
    associated      documentation      from        interviews       BC    researchers       had
    conducted with two former members of the Irish Republican Army
    ("IRA"): Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes.                       BC turned over the
    Hughes   materials       because        he     had       died   and    so    he   had    no
    confidentiality interests at stake.                      BC moved to quash or modify
    the Price subpoenas.         The second set of subpoenas issued in August
    2011 sought any information related to the death or abduction of
    McConville contained in any of the other interview materials held
    by BC.   BC moved to quash these subpoenas as well.
    -3-
    The district court denied both motions to quash.         In re:
    Request from the U.K., 
    831 F. Supp. 2d 435
     (D. Mass. 2011).             And
    after undertaking in camera review of the subpoenaed materials it
    ordered production.       Order, In re: Request from the U.K., No. 11-
    91078 (D. Mass. Dec. 27, 2011), ECF No. 38 (ordering production of
    Price interviews pursuant to May subpoenas); Findings and Order, In
    re: Request from the U.K., No. 11-91078, 
    2012 WL 194432
     (D. Mass.
    Jan. 20, 2012) (ordering production of other interviews pursuant to
    August subpoenas).     BC has appealed the order regarding the August
    subpoenas, but that appeal is not before this panel.           BC chose not
    to appeal the order regarding the Price materials sought by the May
    subpoenas.
    The appellants here, Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre, who
    unsuccessfully sought to intervene in BC's case on both sets of
    subpoenas, pursue in the first appeal a challenge to the district
    court's denial of their motions to intervene as of right and for
    permissive intervention.          Their intervention complaint largely
    repeated the claims made by BC and sought declarations that the
    Attorney General's compliance with the United Kingdom's request
    violates   the    US-UK    MLAT   and    injunctive   relief   or   mandamus
    compelling him to comply with the terms of that treaty. The effect
    of the relief sought would be to impede the execution of the
    subpoenas.
    -4-
    Having lost on intervention, Moloney and McIntyre then
    filed their own original complaint, essentially making the same
    claims as made in this intervenor complaint.         The district court
    dismissed the complaint, stating that even assuming the two had
    standing, the reasons it gave in its reported decision for denial
    of BC's arguments and denial of intervention applied to dismissal
    of the complaint.    See Order of Dismissal, Moloney v. Holder, No.
    11-12331 (D. Mass. Jan. 25, 2012), ECF No. 15; Tr. of Mot. Hr'g,
    Moloney v. Holder, No. 11-12331 (D. Mass. Jan. 24, 2012), ECF No.
    18.   Appellants freely admit that their complaint "essentially set
    forth the same claim" as their complaint in intervention.          In the
    second appeal they challenge the dismissal of their separate civil
    complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure
    to state a claim.
    I.
    The factual background for these suits is not disputed.
    A.         The Belfast Project at Boston College
    The Belfast Project ("the Project") began in 2001 under
    the sponsorship of BC.    An oral history project, its goal was to
    document in taped interviews the recollections of members of the
    Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Provisional Sinn Fein, the
    Ulster   Volunteer   Force,   and   other   paramilitary   and   political
    organizations involved in the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland from
    1969 forward.   The purpose was to gather and preserve the stories
    -5-
    of individual participants and provide insight into those who
    become personally engaged in violent conflict.               The Project is
    housed at the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special
    Collections at BC.
    The Project was first proposed by appellant Ed Moloney,
    a journalist and writer. He later contracted with BC to become the
    Project's director. Before the Project started, Robert K. O'Neill,
    the Director of the Burns Library, informed Moloney that, although
    he had not yet conferred with counsel on the point, he could not
    guarantee that BC "would be in a position to refuse to turn over
    documents [from the Project] on a court order without being held in
    contempt."
    Against this background, the Project attempted to guard
    against unauthorized disclosure. The agreement between Moloney and
    BC directed him as Project Director to require interviewers and
    interviewees to sign a confidentiality agreement forbidding them
    from disclosing the existence or scope of the Project without the
    permission of BC.    The agreement also required the use of a coding
    system to maintain the anonymity of interviewees and provided that
    only the Burns Librarian and Moloney would have access to the key
    identifying    the   interviewees.         Although   the   interviews   were
    originally going to be stored in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well
    as Boston, the Project leadership ultimately decided that the
    interviews could only be safely stored in the United States.             They
    -6-
    were eventually stored in the "Treasure Room" of the Burns Library,
    with extremely limited access.
    The      agreement   between      Moloney   and    BC   requires       that
    "[e]ach interviewee is to be given a contract guaranteeing to the
    extent American law allows the conditions of the interview and the
    conditions of its deposit at the Burns Library, including terms of
    an embargo period if it becomes necessary" (emphasis added).                          The
    agreement,        in    this   clause,    expressly       acknowledged        that    its
    protections could be limited by American law.                   The agreement also
    directs that the Project adopt an "appropriate user model, such as
    Columbia University's Oral History Research Office Guidelines
    statement."1
    The Project employed researchers to interview former
    members of the Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Volunteer
    Force.      Appellant Anthony McIntyre, himself a former IRA member,
    was one of those researchers.                McIntyre worked for the Project
    under a contract governed by the terms of the agreement between
    Moloney and BC. McIntyre's contract required him to transcribe and
    index       the   interviews       he    conducted    and       to    abide    by     the
    confidentiality requirements of the Moloney agreement.                        McIntyre
    conducted a total of twenty-six interviews of persons associated
    1
    As the district court noted in its opinion, researchers for
    Columbia University's oral history projects apparently advise
    interviewees that whatever they say is subject to release under
    court orders and subpoenas. See In re: Request from the U.K., 
    831 F. Supp. 2d 435
    , 441 n.4 (D. Mass. 2011).
    -7-
    with the republican side of the conflict for the Project by the
    time   it    ended   in    2006.     In    addition,     the    Project    contains
    interviews with fourteen members of Protestant paramilitary groups
    and one member of law enforcement.              There are a total of forty-one
    interview series (each series may contain multiple interviews with
    a single person).
    Interviewees entered into donation agreements with BC,
    which were signed by the interviewees and by O'Neill, the Burns
    Librarian.      The donation agreements transfer possession of the
    interview recordings and transcripts to BC and assign to the school
    "absolute title" to the materials, "including whatever copyright"
    the interviewee may own in their contents. The donation agreements
    have   the   following      clause   regarding      access     to   the   interview
    materials:
    Access to the tapes and transcripts shall be
    restricted until after my death except in
    those cases where I have provided prior
    written approval for their use following
    consultation with the Burns Librarian, Boston
    College. Due to the sensitivity of content,
    the ultimate power of release shall rest with
    me.   After my death the Burns Librarian of
    Boston College may exercise such power
    exclusively.
    This   clause   does      not   contain    the    term   "confidentiality"     and
    provides only that access will be restricted.                  But it does recite
    that the ultimate power of release belongs to the donor during the
    donor's lifetime.         The donation agreements do not contain the "to
    the extent American law allows" language that is contained in the
    -8-
    agreement between Moloney and BC. A copy of the donation agreement
    for Brendan Hughes, but not one for Dolours Price, is in the
    record, but we assume both signed one.2
    In   2010    Moloney   published    a     book   and    released    a
    documentary, both entitled "Voices from the Grave, Two Men's War in
    Ireland," based on Belfast Project interviews with Hughes and with
    David Ervine, a former member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.3                   In
    addition, news reports in Northern Ireland revealed that Price had
    been interviewed by academics at a Boston-area university and that
    she   had   admitted      to   being     involved     in     the    murder     and
    "disappearances" of four persons targeted by the IRA, including
    Jean McConville.
    B.          The US-UK MLAT Subpoenas
    On   March   30,   2011,   the   United    States      submitted   an
    application to the district court ex parte and under seal pursuant
    to the US-UK MLAT and 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    , seeking the appointment of
    an Assistant United States Attorney as commissioner to collect
    2
    An affidavit from McIntyre, who interviewed Price, states
    that Price did sign a donation agreement, which McIntyre states
    that he witnessed and also signed, and that he sent the donation
    form to BC.    The affidavit from O'Neill, the Burns Librarian,
    states that a search of the Project's archives for Price's executed
    donation agreement failed to locate it, but that there is no reason
    to doubt that Price did in fact execute a donation agreement just
    like the one executed by Hughes.
    3
    At the time the book was published, both Hughes and Ervine
    had died, so under the terms of their donation agreements their
    interviews could be released to the public.
    -9-
    evidence from witnesses and to take such other action as necessary
    to effectuate a request from law enforcement authorities in the
    United   Kingdom.    That   application    remains   under   seal.   The
    application resulted from a formal request made by the United
    Kingdom, pursuant to the US-UK MLAT, for legal assistance in a
    pending criminal investigation in that country involving the 1972
    murder and kidnapping of Jean McConville.            The district court
    granted the government's application on March 31, 2011, and entered
    a sealed order granting the requested appointment.
    The commissioner issued two sets of subpoenas for Belfast
    Project materials.   The first set of subpoenas were received by BC
    on May 5, 2011, and were directed to the Trustees of Boston
    College; Robert K. O'Neill, Director of the Burns Library; and
    Thomas E. Hachey, Professor of History and Executive Director of
    the Center for Irish Studies at BC.       The subpoenas were issued for
    the purpose of assisting the United Kingdom "regarding an alleged
    violation of the laws of the United Kingdom," namely, murder,
    conspiracy to murder, incitement to murder, aggravated burglary,
    false imprisonment, kidnapping, and causing grievous bodily harm
    with intent to cause such harm.     The subpoenas did not state the
    identity of the victim or victims of these crimes, and sought
    recordings, written documents, written notes, and computer records
    of interviews made with Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price, to be
    produced on May 26, 2011.
    -10-
    BC produced responsive materials related to Hughes; the
    conditions of his donation agreement pertaining to the release of
    his interviews had terminated with his death.   The time to produce
    the Price materials was extended by agreement with the U.S.
    Attorney's Office until June 2, 2011.
    The second set of subpoenas were received by counsel for
    BC on August 4, 2011.   The August subpoenas sought recordings of
    "any and all interviews containing information about the abduction
    and death of Mrs. Jean McConville," along with related transcripts,
    records, and other materials.   The August subpoenas were directed
    at the 176 interviews with the remaining 24 republican-associated
    interviewees who were part of the Project.         These subpoenas
    directed production no later than August 17, 2011.
    C.         The Litigation Initiated by BC
    On June 7, 2011, BC moved to quash the May subpoenas. In
    the alternative, BC requested that the court allow representatives
    from BC access to the documents that describe the purposes of the
    investigation to enable BC to specify with more particularity in
    what ways the subpoenas were overbroad or that the court conduct
    such a review in camera. The government opposed the motion. After
    receiving the August subpoenas, BC filed a new motion to quash
    addressed to both sets of subpoenas, which the government also
    opposed.
    -11-
    On August 31, 2011, appellants Moloney and McIntyre filed
    a motion to intervene as of right and for permissive intervention,
    see Fed. R. Civ. P. 24, along with their intervention complaint.
    That pleading tracked the arguments made in BC's motion to quash
    and also alleged that the Attorney General's compliance with the
    United   Kingdom's   request   violated   the    US-UK     MLAT   and   that
    enforcement of the subpoenas would violate Moloney and McIntyre's
    First and Fifth Amendment rights.         Moloney and McIntyre sought
    declarations that the Attorney General was in violation of the
    US-UK MLAT and injunctive relief or mandamus compelling him to
    comply with the terms of that treaty, the effect of which would be
    to impede the execution of the subpoenas.        The government opposed
    the motions to intervene.
    On December 16, 2011, the district court issued an
    opinion denying BC's motions to quash the May and August subpoenas
    for the reasons stated in its opinion.          In re: Request from the
    U.K., 831 F. Supp. 2d at 459.    As to BC's alternative request, the
    court ordered BC to produce materials responsive to the two sets of
    subpoenas for the court to review in camera.4        Id.
    4
    During a hearing held on December 22, 2011, the court
    explained that it would engage in a two-part analysis, first
    determining whether the produced materials fell within the scope of
    the subpoenas, and second engaging in a balancing test. See Tr. of
    Conf., In re: Request from the U.K., No. 11-91078 (D. Mass. Dec.
    22, 2011), ECF No. 35.
    -12-
    The district court also denied Moloney and McIntyre's
    motion to intervene as of right and their motion for permissive
    intervention.       Id.   The court stated that no federal statute gave
    Moloney and McIntyre an unconditional right to intervene under Rule
    24(a)(1), "and the US-UK MLAT prohibits them from challenging the
    Attorney General's decisions to pursue the MLAT request."5                Id. at
    458.       The    district    court    "conclude[d]     that   Boston    College
    adequately       represents   any     potential   interests    claimed   by   the
    Intervenors.       Boston College has already argued ably in favor of
    protecting Moloney, McIntyre and the interviewees." Id. The court
    did not separately analyze permissive intervention.                Moloney and
    McIntyre timely appealed the denial of their motion to intervene on
    December 29, 2011.
    Having reviewed in camera the interviews of Dolours Price
    sought by the May subpoenas, the district court on December 27,
    2011 ordered that the May subpoenas be enforced according to their
    terms.     See Order, In re: Request from the U.K., No. 11-91078 (D.
    Mass. Dec. 27, 2011), ECF No. 38.              BC and the other recipients of
    the May subpoenas did not appeal this order.6
    5
    The district court also mentioned but did not analyze the
    rule that "[a]n interest that is too contingent or speculative
    . . . cannot furnish a basis for intervention as of right." In re:
    Request from the U.K., 831 F. Supp. 2d at 458 (quoting Ungar v.
    Arafat, 
    634 F.3d 46
    , 50-51 (1st Cir. 2011)) (internal quotation
    marks omitted).
    6
    On December 30, 2011, this court granted Moloney and
    McIntyre's motion to stay the portion of the district court's order
    -13-
    Having been denied intervention, Moloney and McIntyre
    filed a separate civil complaint in the district court on December
    29, 2011. The same legal theories were stated in this complaint as
    had been in the intervention complaint.    The government moved to
    dismiss plaintiffs' separate complaint for lack of subject matter
    jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim
    under Rule 12(b)(6).
    The district court held a hearing on the motion to
    dismiss on January 24, 2012, and dismissed the case from the bench.
    See Tr. of Mot. Hr'g at 11, Moloney v. Holder, No. 11-12331 (D.
    Mass. Jan. 24, 2012), ECF No. 18. The district court "rule[d] that
    neither Mr. McIntyre nor Mr. Moloney under the Mutual Legal
    Assistance Treaty and its adoption by the [S]enate and the treaty
    materials has standing to bring this particular claim."    
    Id.
       The
    district court also stated:
    Beyond that, on the merits, I am satisfied
    that the Attorney General as [a] matter of law
    has acted appropriately with respect to the
    steps he has taken under this treaty, and I
    can conceive of no different result applying
    the heightened scrutiny that I think is
    appropriate for these materials were this case
    to go forward on the merits.7
    of December 27, 2011 permitting the government to turn over the
    Price interview materials to the United Kingdom, pending the
    resolution of this appeal.
    7
    It is evident from the transcript of the hearing that the
    district court considered Moloney and McIntyre's constitutional
    claims as being the same as those raised by BC's motions to quash
    and that the court dismissed Moloney and McIntyre's claims for the
    -14-
    
    Id.
       Moloney and McIntyre timely appealed the dismissal of their
    complaint on January 29, 2012.
    As to BC's motion to quash the August subpoenas, on
    January 20, 2012, the district court ordered BC to produce to the
    government the full series of interviews and transcripts of five
    interviewees   and   two   specific   interviews   (but   not   the   full
    interview series) with two additional interviewees, along with
    transcripts and related records.8       See Findings and Order, In re:
    Request from the U.K., No. 11-91078, 
    2012 WL 194432
     (D. Mass. Jan.
    20, 2012). The court determined that the remaining interviews were
    not within the subpoenas' scope.9     BC has appealed this order, and
    that appeal is not before this panel.       See Appeal No. 12-1236.
    The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
    (ACLUM) has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of appellants
    Moloney and McIntyre.10
    same reasons that it denied BC's motions. Tr. of Mot. Hr'g at 8-
    11, Moloney v. Holder, No. 11-12331 (D. Mass. Jan. 24, 2012), ECF
    No. 18.
    8
    The court made production contingent on the lifting of the
    stay entered by this court on December 30, 2011.
    9
    No party raises on appeal any question whether the district
    court had discretion to review the materials to determine whether
    they fell within the scope of the subpoenas or acted within any
    discretion it had.
    10
    The brief states three interests: support of the First
    Amendment claim, expression of concern about disclosure of
    confidential information held by others, and an expression of
    concern about the government's interpretation of the US-UK MLAT.
    -15-
    II.
    Dismissal of the Civil Complaint's Claims Under the US-UK MLAT
    and 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    We review de novo the dismissal of the appellants'
    complaint.     See Abdel-Aleem v. OPK Biotech LLC, 
    665 F.3d 38
    , 41
    (1st Cir. 2012) (dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
    reviewed de novo); Feliciano-Hernández v. Pereira-Castillo, 
    663 F.3d 527
    , 532 (1st Cir. 2011) (dismissal for failure to state a
    claim reviewed de novo), cert. denied, 
    80 U.S.L.W. 3676
     (U.S. June
    11, 2012).    We "accept[] as true all well-pleaded facts, analyz[e]
    those facts in the light most hospitable to the plaintiff's theory,
    and draw[] all reasonable inferences for the plaintiff."    New York
    v. Amgen Inc., 
    652 F.3d 103
    , 109 (1st Cir. 2011) (quoting United
    States ex rel. Hutcheson v. Blackstone Med., Inc., 
    647 F.3d 377
    ,
    383 (1st Cir. 2011)), cert. dismissed, 
    132 S. Ct. 993
    .    We are not
    bound by the district court's reasoning but "may affirm an order of
    dismissal on any basis made apparent from the record."      Cook v.
    Gates, 
    528 F.3d 42
    , 48 (1st Cir. 2008) (quoting McCloskey v.
    Mueller, 
    446 F.3d 262
    , 266 (1st Cir. 2006)).
    Moloney and McIntyre essentially make several arguments
    of statutory error and one constitutional claim.    They argue that
    (1) they state a claim under the US-UK MLAT and 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    ;
    in any event, (2) they have a claim under the Administrative
    Procedure Act, 
    5 U.S.C. § 702
    , and 
    28 U.S.C. § 1331
    ; and that,
    -16-
    regardless, (3) the district court had residual discretion which it
    abused in not quashing the subpoenas.             They also argue that their
    claim under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, brought
    under        federal   question   jurisdiction,    
    28 U.S.C. § 1331
    ,   was
    improperly dismissed, an argument we address in part III.
    Moloney and McIntyre contend they may bring suit on the
    claims that the Attorney General failed to fulfill his obligations
    under the US-UK MLAT and that they have a private right of action
    to seek a writ of mandamus compelling him to comply with the treaty
    or to seek a declaration from a federal court that he has not
    complied with the treaty.11
    The appellants' claims under the US-UK MLAT fail because
    appellants are not able to state a claim that they have private
    rights that arise under the treaty, and because a federal court has
    no subject matter jurisdiction to entertain a claim for judicial
    review of the Attorney General's actions pursuant to the treaty.
    11
    Appellants assert that the Attorney General's actions
    violate the US-UK MLAT because it was not reasonable to believe
    that a prosecution would take place in the underlying case; he
    failed to take into account certain "essential interests" and
    "public policy" in deciding whether to comply with a request under
    the treaty; the crimes under investigation by the United Kingdom
    were "of a political character;" and he did not consider the
    implications for the peace process in Northern Ireland of complying
    with the United Kingdom's request.     The federal courts may not
    review this decision by the Attorney General.
    -17-
    A.          Explanation of the Treaty and Statutory Scheme
    The United States has entered into a number of mutual
    legal assistance treaties ("MLATs") which typically provide for
    bilateral, mutual assistance in the gathering of legal evidence for
    use   by   the   requesting   state    in    criminal   investigations   and
    proceedings.      A description of the history and evolution of such
    MLATs may be found in the Ninth Circuit's decision in In re 840
    140th Ave. NE, 
    634 F.3d 557
    , 563-64 (9th Cir. 2011).
    The MLAT between the United States and the United Kingdom
    was signed on January 6, 1994, and entered into force on December
    2, 1996.    See Treaty Between the Government of the United States
    and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
    Northern Ireland on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters,
    U.S.-U.K., Dec. 2, 1996, S. Treaty Doc. No. 104-2.            In 2003, the
    United States signed a mutual legal assistance treaty with the
    European Union ("US-EU MLAT") that made additions and amendments to
    the US-UK MLAT; the latter is in turn included as an annex to the
    US-EU MLAT.      See Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance Between the
    United States of America and the European Union, U.S.-E.U., June
    25, 2003, S. Treaty Doc. No. 109-13. Both MLATs are self-executing
    treaties.    S. Treaty Doc. No. 109-13, at vii ("The U.S.-EU Mutual
    Legal Assistance Agreement and bilateral instruments [including the
    annexed US-UK MLAT] are regarded as self-executing treaties under
    U.S. law . . . .").
    -18-
    Article 1 of the US-UK MLAT provides that the parties to
    the agreement shall assist one another in taking testimony of
    persons;   providing   documents,    records,   and   evidence;   serving
    documents; locating or identifying persons; transferring persons in
    custody for testimony or other purposes; executing requests for
    searches and seizures; identifying, tracing, freezing, seizing, and
    forfeiting   the   proceeds   and   instrumentalities    of   crime;   and
    providing other assistance the parties' representatives may agree
    upon.   See US-UK MLAT, art. 1, ¶ 2.
    Importantly, article 1 further states: "This treaty is
    intended solely for mutual legal assistance between the Parties.
    The provisions of this Treaty shall not give rise to a right on the
    part of any private person to obtain, suppress, or exclude any
    evidence, or to impede the execution of a request."           US-UK MLAT,
    art. 1, ¶ 3.       This treaty expressly prohibits the creation of
    private rights of action.
    Article 2 concerns Central Authorities: each party's
    representative responsible for making and receiving requests under
    the US-UK MLAT.     US-UK MLAT, art. 2, ¶ 3.    The treaty states that
    the Central Authority for the United States is "the Attorney
    General or a person or agency designated by him."             US-UK MLAT,
    art. 2, ¶ 2.
    -19-
    Article 3 sets forth certain conditions under which the
    Central Authority of the Requested Party may refuse assistance.12
    Before the Central Authority of a Requested Party denies assistance
    for any of the listed reasons, the treaty states that he or she
    "shall consult with the Central Authority of the Requesting Party
    to consider whether assistance can be given subject to such
    conditions as it deems necessary."     US-UK MLAT, art. 3, ¶ 2.
    12
    Article 3, paragraph one states that
    [t]he Central Authority of the Requested Party
    may refuse assistance if:
    (a) the Requested Party is of the opinion that
    the request, if granted, would impair its
    sovereignty, security, or other essential
    interests or would be contrary to important
    public policy;
    (b) the request relates to an offender who, if
    proceeded against in the Requested Party for
    the offense for which assistance is requested,
    would be entitled to be discharged on the
    grounds of previous acquittal or conviction;
    or
    (c) the request relates to an offense that is
    regarded by the Requested Party as:
    (i) an offense of a political character;
    or
    (ii) an offense under military law of the
    Requested Party which is not also an
    offense under the ordinary civilian law
    of the Requested Party.
    US-UK MLAT, art. 3, ¶ 1.
    -20-
    In article 18, entitled "Consultation," the treaty states
    that
    [t]he Parties, or Central Authorities, shall
    consult promptly, at the request of either,
    concerning the implementation of this Treaty
    either generally or in relation to a
    particular case.    Such consultation may in
    particular take place if . . . either Party
    has rights or obligations under another
    bilateral or multilateral agreement relating
    to the subject matter of this Treaty.
    US-UK MLAT, art. 18, ¶ 1.
    The requests from the United Kingdom in this case were
    executed under 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    , which was enacted as part of the
    Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act of 2009, Pub. L. No.
    111-79, 
    123 Stat. 2086
    .            When the US-UK MLAT was entered into,
    requests for assistance were to be executed under a different
    statute, 
    28 U.S.C. § 1782
    .           See S. Exec. Rep. No. 104-23, at 13
    (1996)      (report   of   the    Senate   Committee   on   Foreign   Relations
    accompanying the US-UK MLAT).              Among other differences, § 3512
    provides for a more streamlined process than under § 1782 for
    executing      requests    from    foreign    governments    related   to   the
    prosecution of criminal offenses.13           Enforcement of similar MLATs
    13
    Section 1782 effectively requires the Attorney General as
    Central Authority to respond to requests for evidence from foreign
    governments by filing requests with the district court in every
    district in which evidence or a witness may be found. See 155
    Cong. Rec. S6810 (daily ed. June 18, 2009) (letter from Acting
    Assistant Att'y Gen. Burton to Sen. Whitehouse). In practice this
    requires involving multiple U.S. Attorneys' Offices and district
    courts in a single case. Id. Section 3512, on the other hand,
    permits a single Assistant United States Attorney to pursue
    -21-
    under the provisions of § 1782 was the subject of consideration in
    In re 840 140th Ave. NE, 
    634 F.3d 557
     (9th Cir. 2011); In re
    Commissioner's Subpoenas, 
    325 F.3d 1287
     (11th Cir. 2003), abrogated
    in part by Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 
    542 U.S. 241
     (2004); and In re Erato, 
    2 F.3d 11
     (2d Cir. 1993).
    B.          Appellants Have No Enforceable Rights Derived from the
    US-UK MLAT
    Interpretation of the treaty takes place against "the
    background presumption . . . that '[i]nternational agreements, even
    those directly benefitting private persons, generally do not create
    rights or provide for a private cause of action in domestic
    courts.'"    Medellín v. Texas, 
    128 S. Ct. 1346
    , 1357 n.3 (2008)
    (alteration in original) (quoting 2 Restatement (Third) of Foreign
    Relations Law of the United States § 907 cmt. a, at 395 (1986)).
    The First Circuit and other courts of appeals have held that
    "treaties   do   not   generally   create    rights   that   are   privately
    enforceable in the federal courts."         United States v. Li, 
    206 F.3d 56
    , 60 (1st Cir. 2000) (en banc); see also Mora v. New York, 
    524 F.3d 183
    , 201 & n.25 (2d Cir. 2008) (collecting cases from ten
    circuits holding that there is a presumption that treaties do not
    create privately enforceable rights in the absence of express
    requests   in   multiple   judicial  districts,   see   
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    (a)(1); 155 Cong. Rec. S6809 (daily ed. June 18, 2009)
    (statement of Sen. Whitehouse), and allows individual district
    court judges to oversee and approve subpoenas and other orders (but
    not search warrants) in districts other than their own, see 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    (f).
    -22-
    language to the contrary).    Express language in a treaty creating
    private rights can overcome this presumption.     See Mora, 
    524 F.3d at 188
    .
    The US-UK MLAT contains no express language creating
    private rights.   To the contrary, the treaty expressly states that
    it does not give rise to any private rights.    Article 1, paragraph
    3 of the treaty states, in full: "This treaty is intended solely
    for mutual legal assistance between the Parties. The provisions of
    this Treaty shall not give rise to a right on the part of any
    private person to obtain, suppress, or exclude any evidence, or to
    impede the execution of a request."     US-UK MLAT, art. 1, ¶ 3.   The
    language of the treaty is clear: a "private person," such as
    Moloney or McIntyre here, does not have any right under the treaty
    to "suppress . . . any evidence, or to impede the execution of a
    request."
    If there were any doubt, and there is none, the report of
    the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that accompanied the
    US-UK MLAT confirms this reading of the treaty's text:
    [T]he Treaty is not intended to create any
    rights to impede execution of requests or to
    suppress   or   exclude    evidence   obtained
    thereunder. Thus, a person from whom records
    are sought may not oppose the execution of the
    request by claiming that it does not comply
    with the Treaty's formal requirements set out
    in article 3.
    S. Exec. Rep. No. 104-23, at 14.
    -23-
    Other courts considering MLATs containing terms similar
    to the US-UK MLAT here have uniformly ruled that no such private
    right exists.   See In re Grand Jury Subpoena, 
    646 F.3d 159
    , 165
    (4th Cir. 2011) (subject of a subpoena issued pursuant to an MLAT
    with a clause identical to the US-UK MLAT's article 1, paragraph 3
    "failed to show that the MLAT gives rise to a private right of
    action that can be used to restrict the government's conduct");
    United States v. Rommy, 
    506 F.3d 108
    , 129 (2d Cir. 2007) (defendant
    who argued that evidence against him was improperly admitted
    because it was gathered in violation of US-Netherlands MLAT could
    not "demonstrate that the treaty creates any judicially enforceable
    right that could be implicated by the government's conduct" in the
    case); United States v. $734,578.82 in U.S. Currency, 
    286 F.3d 641
    ,
    659 (3d Cir. 2002) (article 1, paragraph 3 of US-UK MLAT barred
    claimants' argument that seizure and subsequent forfeiture of money
    violated the treaty); United States v. Chitron Elecs. Co. Ltd., 
    668 F. Supp. 2d 298
    , 306-07 (D. Mass. 2009) (defendant's argument that
    service of criminal summons was defective under US-China MLAT,
    which contained a clause identical to article 1, paragraph 3 of
    US-UK MLAT, failed because "the MLAT does not create a private
    right of enforcement of the treaty").
    Moloney   and   McIntyre    attempt   to   get   around   the
    prohibition on the creation of private causes of action with three
    arguments based on the treaty language. Appellants appear to argue
    -24-
    that the text of the US-UK MLAT only covers requests for documents
    in the possession of the Requested Party but not for documents held
    by third persons who are merely under the jurisdiction of the
    government which is the Requested Party.         This is clearly wrong.
    Article 1, paragraph 2 of the treaty states that a form of
    assistance    provided   for   under   the   treaty   includes   "providing
    documents, records, and evidence." US-UK MLAT, art. 1, ¶ 2(b). As
    the Senate report explains, the treaty "permits a State to compel
    a person in the Requested State to testify and produce documents
    there."   S. Exec. Rep. No. 104-23, at 7.
    Appellants' second argument is that article 1, paragraph
    3 applies only to criminal defendants who try to block enforcement.
    This argument has no support in the text of the treaty.           The US-UK
    MLAT plainly states that the treaty does not "give rise to a right
    on the part of any private person . . . to impede the execution of
    a request."     US-UK MLAT, art. 1, ¶ 3 (emphasis added).              This
    prohibition by its terms encompasses all private persons, not just
    criminal defendants.
    Appellants finally contend that they do not seek to
    "obtain, suppress, or exclude any evidence, or to impede the
    execution of a request," but instead merely to enforce the treaty
    requirements before there can be compliance with a subpoena. Their
    own requests for relief make it clear they are attempting to do
    exactly what they say they are not.
    -25-
    Because the US-UK MLAT expressly disclaims the existence
    of any private rights under the treaty, appellants cannot state a
    claim under the treaty upon which relief can be granted.14
    C.        The APA Does Not Provide a Claim for Judicial Review
    Appellants   attempt   to     circumvent   the   US-UK   MLAT's
    prohibition on private rights of action by framing their suit as
    one of judicial review under the APA.15      See 
    5 U.S.C. § 702
    .
    It is true that § 702 of the APA provides that "[a]
    person suffering legal wrong because of agency action, or adversely
    affected or aggrieved by agency action within the meaning of a
    relevant statute, is entitled to judicial review thereof."          Id.
    However, § 701(a)(1) withdraws the right to judicial review to the
    14
    We reject their broader contention that the US-EU MLAT
    provides a basis for applying U.S. domestic law. That treaty has
    a provision that reads: "The provisions of this Agreement shall not
    . . . expand or limit rights otherwise available under domestic
    law." US-EU MLAT, art. 3, ¶ 5. Not only is appellants' reliance
    on this provision question begging, it is also misplaced. By its
    terms the provision applies only to the US-EU MLAT and not to any
    of the related bilateral agreements, such as the US-UK MLAT at
    issue in this case.
    15
    The government argues that Moloney and McIntyre lack
    prudential standing to bring their claims under the APA because
    their asserted interests fall outside the zone of interests meant
    to be protected or regulated by the US-UK MLAT. See Match-E-Be-
    Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak, Nos. 11-246,
    11-247, 
    2012 WL 2202936
    , at *9 (U.S. June 18, 2012) (describing the
    prudential standing test). The zone-of-interests standing question
    "is an issue of statutory standing," not Article III standing.
    Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 
    523 U.S. 83
    , 97 (1998).
    We may and do bypass the question of appellants' statutory standing
    and resolve the issue of whether the APA provides them with a cause
    of action on the merits. See 
    id.
     at 97 & n.2 (merits questions may
    be decided before statutory standing questions).
    -26-
    extent that "statutes preclude judicial review."           
    Id.
       The treaty
    here by its express language precludes judicial review.           Further,
    "the    structure   of   the   statutory   scheme,   its   objectives,   its
    legislative history, and the nature of the administrative action
    involved" all dictate that no judicial review is available under
    the APA. Block v. Cmty. Nutrition Inst., 
    467 U.S. 340
    , 345 (1984).
    Section 701(a)(1) thus bars federal court jurisdiction here.16
    Accord Comm. of U.S. Citizens Living in Nicar. v. Reagan, 
    859 F.2d 929
    , 943 (D.C. Cir. 1988) ("[T]he APA does not grant judicial
    review of agencies' compliance with a legal norm that is not
    otherwise an operative part of domestic law." (citing 5 Davis,
    Administrative Law Treatise § 28.1, at 256 (2d ed. 1984))).
    16
    Appellants admit they cannot invoke the Declaratory
    Judgment Act, 
    28 U.S.C. § 2201
    , as an independent basis for
    jurisdiction over their claims. See Alberto San, Inc. v. Consejo
    de Titulares del Condominio San Alberto, 
    522 F.3d 1
    , 5 (1st Cir.
    2008) (Declaratory Judgment Act "merely 'makes available an added
    anodyne for disputes that come within the federal courts'
    jurisdiction on some other basis.'" (quoting Ernst & Young v.
    Depositors Econ. Prot. Corp., 
    45 F.3d 530
    , 534 (1st Cir. 1995))
    (citing Skelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 
    339 U.S. 667
    , 671
    (1950))).
    Nor are appellants entitled to a writ of mandamus under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1361
    .    "Mandamus is regarded as an extraordinary writ
    reserved for special situations. Among its ordinary preconditions
    are that the agency or official have acted (or failed to act) in
    disregard of a clear legal duty and that there be no adequate
    conventional means for review." In re City of Fall River, Mass.,
    
    470 F.3d 30
    , 32 (1st Cir. 2006). Such clear legal duty must be
    "nondiscretionary." Eveland v. Dir. of Cent. Intelligence Agency,
    
    843 F.2d 46
    , 51 (1st Cir. 1988) (per curiam) (quoting Heckler v.
    Ringer, 
    466 U.S. 602
    , 616 (1984)). Here, the plain text of article
    1, paragraph 3 of the US-UK MLAT precludes any legal duty --
    discretionary or nondiscretionary -- under the treaty on the part
    of the Attorney General to any private party.
    -27-
    D.              The District Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion, in Any
    Event, in Denying Relief
    The district court reasoned that it had discretion, under
    the laws of the United States, particularly 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    , to
    quash the subpoenas, and concluded that it would exercise its
    discretion not to do so.          The appellants, accordingly, argue that
    they may take advantage of that discretion and that the district
    court        abused   its   discretion   in     not   granting   relief.17   The
    government in this case has chosen not to address the question of
    whether there is any such discretion, or, if so, the scope of it or
    who may invoke it.          By contrast, in a case under the US-Russia MLAT
    and 
    28 U.S.C. § 1782
    , the government argued that the district court
    17
    Appellants' reliance on Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro
    Devices, Inc., 
    542 U.S. 241
     (2004), fails. Moloney and McIntyre
    argue that the district court should have evaluated the subpoenas
    by applying the discretionary factors set forth in Intel. In that
    case the Supreme Court set out "factors that bear consideration in
    ruling on a § 1782(a) request" for the production of evidence for
    use in a foreign tribunal. Id. at 264.
    The Intel factors are not applicable in this case for two
    reasons, whether or not § 3512 provides any residual discretion.
    The request here was brought under 
    18 U.S.C. § 3512
    , not 
    28 U.S.C. § 1782
    (a).   In addition, the United Kingdom's request was made
    pursuant to an MLAT.    The Court developed the Intel factors to
    apply to a situation where 
    28 U.S.C. § 1782
    (a) provided the only
    substantive standards for evaluating a request, but here such
    substantive standards are provided by the US-UK MLAT. See In re
    840 140th Ave. NE, 
    634 F.3d 557
    , 571 (9th Cir. 2011) (MLAT requests
    brought pursuant to § 1782 use that statute's procedural mechanisms
    "without importing [its] substantive limitations"); Nanda &
    Pansius, Litigation of International Disputes in U.S. Courts
    § 17:53 ("The [MLAT] provides at least three advantages:
    reciprocity; the reduction (if not elimination) of the court's
    discretion under § 1782; and the streamlining of evidence
    processes.").
    -28-
    lacked discretion to quash the subpoena.                In re 840 140th Ave. NE,
    634   F.3d   at     565,   568.     The   Ninth      Circuit    agreed    with   the
    government's position, and noted that at most the statute provides
    "a procedure for executing requests, but not . . . a means for
    deciding whether or not to grant or deny a request so made."                     Id.
    at 570 (quoting In re Commissioner's Subpoenas, 
    325 F.3d at 1297
    )
    (internal quotation mark omitted). In doing so, it agreed with the
    Eleventh Circuit in In re Commissioner's Subpoenas.
    By contrast, here, for purposes of this appeal, the
    government    has     assumed     arguendo    that    the   district     court   had
    discretion    to     quash   (going   beyond      the   issue    of   whether    the
    documents were responsive to the terms of the subpoenas) and has
    argued that the court acted properly within any discretion it may
    have had.    So we have no occasion to pass on these assumptions and
    caution that we are not deciding any of these issues.                    The issues
    before us are more limited.
    Even    assuming     arguendo    the    district    court    had    such
    discretion, a question we do not address, we see no basis to upset
    the decision not to quash.          The district court concluded that the
    balance of interests favored the government.                   See Order, In re:
    Request from the U.K., No. 11-91078 (D. Mass. Dec. 27, 2011), ECF
    No. 38; Findings and Order, In re: Request from the U.K., No. 11-
    91078, 
    2012 WL 194432
     (D. Mass. Jan. 20, 2012).                        The court's
    -29-
    finding that any balancing favored the government was not an abuse
    of discretion, assuming such discretion existed.
    III.
    The Constitutional Claims Were Properly Dismissed
    Moloney and McIntyre's civil complaint alleged violations
    of their constitutional rights under the First Amendment.18 We have
    jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1331
    .
    It is undisputed that treaty obligations are subject to
    some constitutional limits.    See Am. Ins. Ass'n v. Garamendi, 
    539 U.S. 396
    , 417 & n.9 (2003) (treaty obligations are "subject . . .
    to the Constitution's guarantees of individual rights").      Like the
    Ninth Circuit in In re 840 140th Ave. NE, we think it clear that
    the Constitution does not compel the consideration under the treaty
    of discretionary factors such as those contained in § 1782,
    although Congress may choose to enact some in statutes.     634 F.3d
    at 573.
    We affirm the dismissal for failure to state a claim,
    after disposing of some of the government's initial arguments.
    18
    Although the complaint alludes to a Fifth Amendment claim,
    based on alleged risk to appellants, no such claim is pled or
    briefed, and it fails. See Marrero-Rodríguez v. Municipality of
    San Juan, 
    677 F.3d 497
    , 501 (1st Cir. 2012) (dismissing as not
    properly pled a Fourth Amendment claim which was only mentioned on
    the first page of the complaint, and was not even pled as a claim).
    -30-
    A.              The Government's Standing Objections
    The government attempts to short stop any analysis of
    whether a claim is stated by arguing that neither appellant has
    standing under Article III to raise a constitutional claim.
    Standing has both an Article III component and a prudential
    component.          Katz v. Pershing, LLC, 
    672 F.3d 64
    , 71-72 (1st Cir.
    2012).        If the government's objections went only to prudential
    standing, they could easily be bypassed in favor of a decision on
    the merits.          Nisselson v. Lernout, 
    469 F.3d 143
    , 150 (1st Cir.
    2006) (challenges to plaintiff's standing to sue "must be addressed
    first only if they call into question a federal court's Article III
    power to hear the case").
    "Standing under Article III of the Constitution requires
    that an injury be concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent;
    fairly traceable to the challenged action; and redressable by a
    favorable ruling." Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 
    130 S. Ct. 2743
    ,        2752   (2010).   At   this   stage,   under    Iqbal   we   credit
    plaintiffs' allegations of threatened harm.19              See Katz, 672 F.3d
    at 70; Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 
    556 U.S. 662
    , 678 (2009).            On their face,
    the pleadings appear to allege the requisite Article III injury
    that is fairly traceable to the issuance of the subpoenas and
    redressable by a favorable ruling.           To the extent the government
    19
    We add that the government disputes these allegations of
    threatened harm to appellants, which also makes any final
    resolution of the standing issue at this stage inadvisable.
    -31-
    asserts that the appellants lack prudential standing, we bypass the
    arguments.
    B.           Failure to State a First Amendment Claim
    We affirm the dismissal, as we are required to do by
    Branzburg v. Hayes, 
    408 U.S. 665
     (1972).     As framed, the claim is
    one of violation of appellants' individual "constitutional right to
    freedom of speech, and in particular their freedom to impart
    historically important information for the benefit of the American
    public, without the threat of adverse government reaction."    They
    support this with an assertion that production of the subpoenaed
    interviews is contrary to the "confidentiality" they say they
    promised to the interviewees.      They assert an academic research
    privilege,20 to be evaluated under the same terms as claims of a
    reporter's privilege.     See Cusumano v. Microsoft Corp., 
    162 F.3d 708
    , 714 (1st Cir. 1998) ("Academicians engaged in pre-publication
    research should be accorded protection commensurate to that which
    the law provides for journalists.").
    20
    The Supreme Court, for First Amendment purposes, has
    distinguished between "academic freedom" cases, on the one hand,
    involving government attempts to influence the content of academic
    speech and direct efforts by government to determine who teaches,
    from, on the other hand, the question of privilege in the academic
    setting to protect confidential peer review materials. Univ. of
    Pa. v. EEOC, 
    493 U.S. 182
    , 197-98 (1990).     We view appellants'
    claim as falling into the second category. As such, it is far
    attenuated from the academic freedom issue, and the claimed injury
    as to academic freedom is speculative. 
    Id. at 200
    .
    -32-
    Our analysis is controlled by Branzburg, which held that
    the fact that disclosure of the materials sought by a subpoena in
    criminal proceedings would result in the breaking of a promise of
    confidentiality by reporters is not by itself a legally cognizable
    First Amendment or common law injury. See 
    408 U.S. at 682, 690-91, 701
    . Since Branzburg, the Court has three times affirmed its basic
    principles in that opinion.       See Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., 
    501 U.S. 663
     (1991) (First Amendment does not prohibit a plaintiff from
    recovering damages, under state promissory estoppel law, if the
    defendant newspaper breaches its promise of confidentiality); Univ.
    of Pa. v. EEOC, 
    493 U.S. 182
     (1990) (First Amendment does not give
    a university any privilege to avoid disclosure of its confidential
    peer    review    materials   pursuant    to   an    EEOC   subpoena   in   a
    discrimination case); Zurcher v. Stanford Daily, 
    436 U.S. 547
    (1978) (First Amendment does not provide any special protections
    for newspapers whose offices might be searched pursuant to a search
    warrant based on probable cause to look for evidence of a crime).
    In Branzburg, the Court rejected reporters' claims that
    the freedoms of the press21 and speech under the First Amendment,
    or the common law, gave them the right to refuse to testify before
    grand juries under subpoena with respect to information they
    learned from their confidential sources.            The Court held that the
    strong interests in law enforcement precluded the creation of a
    21
    No claim of freedom of the press is involved here.
    -33-
    special rule granting reporters a privilege which other citizens do
    not enjoy:
    Fair and effective law enforcement aimed at
    providing security for the person and property
    of the individual is a fundamental function of
    government, and the grand jury plays an
    important, constitutionally mandated role in
    this process. On the records now before us,
    we perceive no basis for holding that the
    public interest in law enforcement and in
    ensuring effective grand jury proceedings is
    insufficient to override the consequential,
    but uncertain, burden on news gathering that
    is said to result from insisting that
    reporters, like other citizens, respond to
    relevant questions put to them in the course
    of a valid grand jury investigation or
    criminal trial.
    
    408 U.S. at 690-91
    ; accord Cohen, 
    501 U.S. at 669
    .      The Branzburg
    Court "flatly rejected any notion of a general-purpose reporter's
    privilege for confidential sources, whether by virtue of the First
    Amendment or of a newly hewn common law privilege."22 In re Special
    Proceedings, 
    373 F.3d 37
    , 44 (1st Cir. 2004).       And as the Court
    said in Zurcher,
    Nor are we convinced, any more than we were in
    Branzburg, that confidential sources will
    disappear and that the press will suppress
    news because of fears of warranted searches.
    Whatever incremental effect there may be in
    this regard if search warrants, as well as
    22
    The Branzburg Court "left open . . . the prospect that in
    certain situations -- e.g., a showing of bad faith purpose to
    harass -- First Amendment protections might be invoked by the
    reporter." In re Special Proceedings, 
    373 F.3d 37
    , 45 (1st Cir.
    2004) (citing Branzburg v. Hayes, 
    408 U.S. 665
    , 707-08 (1972)).
    This suit does not fall within that premise. There is no plausible
    claim here of a bad faith purpose to harass.
    -34-
    subpoenas,   are    permissible    in   proper
    circumstances,   it    does    not    make   a
    constitutional difference in our judgment.
    
    436 U.S. at 566
     (citation omitted).         As in Branzburg, there is no
    reason to create such a privilege here.
    The Court rejected a similar claim of First Amendment
    privilege in University of Pennsylvania.         The claim rejected there
    was that peer review materials produced in a university setting
    should not be disclosed in response to an EEOC subpoena in an
    investigation      of   possible   tenure   discrimination.     The   Court
    rejected the University's claims of First Amendment and of common
    law privilege.      It also rejected a requirement that there be a
    judicial finding of particularized relevance beyond a showing of
    relevance.     
    493 U.S. at 188, 194
    .
    The   issue   of   defending    against   court   proceedings
    requiring disclosure of information given under a promise of
    confidentiality has come up in a variety of circumstances in this
    circuit. Some cases involved underlying criminal proceedings as in
    Branzburg.     See In re Special Proceedings, 
    373 F.3d 37
     (1st Cir.
    2004) (upholding order finding reporter in civil contempt for
    refusing to reveal to a special prosecutor the identity of the
    person who leaked a videotape in violation of a protective order
    entered in a criminal proceeding).          One case did not invoke grand
    jury or government criminal investigations, but rather a request
    from criminal defendants.       United States v. LaRouche Campaign, 841
    -35-
    F.2d 1176 (1st Cir. 1988) (upholding order finding television
    network in civil contempt for refusing to comply with criminal
    defendants' subpoena seeking "outtakes" of an interview with a key
    government witness).23
    Two of our precedents dealt with claims of a non-
    disclosure privilege in civil cases, in which private parties both
    sought and opposed disclosure; as a result, the government and
    public's strong interest in investigation of crime was not an
    issue.    See Cusumano, 
    162 F.3d 708
    ;24 Bruno & Stillman, Inc. v.
    Globe Newspaper Co., 
    633 F.2d 583
     (1st Cir. 1980).
    This case is closer to Branzburg itself, buttressed by
    University of Pennsylvania, than any of our circuit precedent. The
    Branzburg    analysis,   especially   as   to   the   strength   of   the
    governmental    and   public    interest   in   not   impeding   criminal
    investigations, guides our outcome.
    The fact that a U.S. grand jury did not issue the
    subpoenas here is not a ground on which to avoid the conclusion
    that Branzburg controls.       The law enforcement interest here -- a
    23
    As the Seventh Circuit recognized in McKevitt v. Pallasch,
    
    339 F.3d 530
    , 532 (7th Cir. 2003), there is a circuit split on
    whether under Branzburg there can ever be a reporter's privilege of
    constitutional or common law dimensions.         This circuit has
    recognized such a possibility in United States v. LaRouche
    Campaign, 
    841 F.2d 1176
    , 1181-82 (1st Cir. 1988).
    24
    Even if Branzburg left us free, as we think it does not,
    to engage in an independent balancing utilizing the test
    articulated in our decision in Cusumano, we would still affirm, for
    the same reasons.
    -36-
    criminal investigation by a foreign sovereign advanced through
    treaty   obligations     --      is    arguably    even    stronger      than   the
    government's interest in Branzburg itself.                 Two branches of the
    federal government, the Executive and the Senate, have expressly
    decided to assume these treaty obligations.                 In exchange, this
    country is provided with valuable reciprocal rights.               "The federal
    interest in cooperating in the criminal proceedings of friendly
    foreign nations is obvious."           McKevitt v. Pallasch, 
    339 F.3d 530
    ,
    532 (7th Cir. 2003).          The strong interests of both the United
    States   government     and    the     requesting     foreign    government     is
    emphasized by language in the treaty itself, which prohibits
    private parties from attempting to block enforcement of subpoenas.
    See US-UK MLAT, art. 1, ¶ 3.
    The Supreme Court in Branzburg stressed that "[f]air and
    effective law enforcement aimed at providing security for the
    person and property of the individual is a fundamental function of
    government."      
    408 U.S. at 690
    .        "The preference for anonymity of
    those confidential informants involved in actual criminal conduct
    is   presumably    a   product    of    their     desire   to   escape    criminal
    prosecution, and this preference, while understandable, is hardly
    deserving of constitutional protection."              
    Id. at 691
    .        The court
    also commented that "it is obvious that agreements to conceal
    information relevant to commission of crime have very little to
    recommend them from the standpoint of public policy." 
    Id. at 696
    .
    -37-
    In doing so, it relied on legal history, including both English and
    United States history outlawing concealment of a felony.              
    Id. at 696-97
    .
    Branzburg    weighed    the    interests   against   disclosure
    pursuant to subpoenas and concluded they were so wanting as not to
    state a claim.25       The opinion discussed the situation, not merely
    of   reporters   who     promised   confidentiality,    but   also   of   both
    informants who had committed crimes and those innocent informants
    who had information pertinent to the investigation of crimes.             The
    interests in confidentiality of both kinds of informants did not
    give rise to a First Amendment interest in the reporters to whom
    they had given the information under a promise of confidentiality.
    These insufficient interests included the fear, as here, that
    disclosure might "threaten their job security or personal safety or
    that it will simply result in dishonor or embarrassment."             
    Id. at 693
    .     If the reporters' interests were insufficient in Branzburg,
    the academic researchers' interests necessarily are insufficient
    here.
    It may be that compliance with the subpoenas in the face
    of the misleading assurances in the donation agreements could have
    some chilling effect, as plaintiffs assert.             This amounts to an
    25
    Branzburg also rejected arguments of First Amendment
    protection based on a notion that the press was being used as an
    investigative arm of the government, imposing burdens on it. 
    408 U.S. at 706-07
    .
    -38-
    argument that unless confidentiality could be promised and that
    promise upheld by the courts in defense to criminal subpoenas, the
    research project will be less effective.26              Branzburg took into
    account precisely this risk.         So did the Court in rejecting the
    claim in the academic peer review situation in University of
    Pennsylvania. See 
    493 U.S. at 188, 194
    . The choice to investigate
    criminal activity belongs to the government and is not subject to
    veto by academic researchers.
    We add that this situation was clearly avoidable.            It is
    unfortunate that BC was inconsistent in its application of its
    recognition     of    the   limits     of     its      ability    to    promise
    confidentiality.      But that hardly assists the appellants' case.
    Burns     Librarian   O'Neill   informed     Moloney    before    the   project
    commenced that he could not guarantee that BC "would be in a
    position to refuse to turn over documents [from the Project] on a
    court order without being held in contempt."            In keeping with this
    warning,     Moloney's   agreement    with    BC    directed     that   "[e]ach
    interviewee is to be given a contract guaranteeing to the extent
    26
    McIntyre, but not Moloney, in his affidavit states that
    neither he nor the people he interviewed would have participated in
    the Belfast Project had they thought that the interviews would be
    subject to disclosure before their deaths and without their
    permission. Burns Librarian O'Neill states in his affidavit that
    "[h]ad the assurances of confidentiality not been made, it is
    doubtful that any paramilitary would have participated in this oral
    history project. Their stories would have died with them, and an
    opportunity to document and preserve a critical part of the
    historical record would have been lost forever."
    -39-
    American law allows           the conditions of the interview and the
    conditions of its deposit at the Burns Library, including terms of
    an embargo period if this becomes necessary" (emphasis added).
    Despite Moloney's knowledge of these limitations, the donation
    agreements     signed    by     the   interviewees    did    not    contain     the
    limitation required to be in them by Moloney's agreement with BC.
    That failure in the donation agreement does not change
    the fact that any promises of confidentiality were necessarily
    limited by the principle that "the mere fact that a communication
    was   made    in   express      confidence    .   .   .   does     not    create   a
    privilege. . . . No pledge of privacy nor oath of secrecy can avail
    against demand for the truth in a court of justice."                     Branzburg,
    
    408 U.S. at
    682   n.21    (quoting     8   Wigmore,   Evidence       §   2286
    (McNaughton rev. 1961)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    To be clear, even if participants had been made aware of
    the limits of any representation about non-disclosure, Moloney and
    McIntyre had no First Amendment basis to challenge the subpoenas.
    Appellants simply have no constitutional claim and so that portion
    of the complaint was also properly dismissed.27
    27
    Appellants' intervention complaint raised the same claims
    as their separate civil complaint. We have affirmed that there is
    no cause of action under the treaty and under the Constitution, so
    there is no need for us to consider whether the district court
    acted within its discretion in denying appellants' motion to
    intervene. Cf. In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 
    708 F.2d 1571
    , 1575
    (11th Cir. 1983) (per curiam) (holding that the district court's
    denial of a petition to intervene was harmless error because the
    merits of the appellant's claim were eventually considered on
    -40-
    IV.
    We uphold the denial of the requested relief for the
    reasons stated and affirm.    No costs are awarded.
    -- Opinion Concurring in the Judgment Follows --
    appeal).
    -41-
    TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge (Concurring in the judgment
    only).    I reluctantly concur in the judgment in this case, doing so
    only because I am compelled to agree that the Supreme Court in
    Branzburg v. Hayes, 
    408 U.S. 665
     (1972), and subsequent cases has
    most likely foreclosed the relief that the Appellants in these
    consolidated appeals seek. I write separately to emphasize my view
    that, while the effect of Branzburg and its progeny is to forestall
    the result that the Appellants wish to see occur, none of those
    cases supports the very different proposition, apparently espoused
    by the majority, that the First Amendment does not provide some
    degree of protection to the fruits of the Appellants' investigative
    labors.       Cf. Branzburg, 
    408 U.S. at 681
    .           It is one thing to say
    that    the    high   court     has   considered   competing    interests   and
    determined that information gatherers (here, academic researchers)
    may not refuse to turn over material they acquired upon a premise
    of confidentiality when these are requested via government subpoena
    in criminal proceedings. It is entirely another to eagerly fail to
    recognize that the First Amendment affords the Appellants "a
    measure of protection . . . in order not to undermine their ability
    to gather and disseminate information."                 Cusumano v. Microsoft
    Corp., 
    162 F.3d 708
    , 714 (1st Cir. 1998).
    "It is firmly established that the First Amendment's
    aegis    extends      further    than   the    text's   proscription   on   laws
    'abridging the freedom of speech, or the press,' and encompasses a
    -42-
    range of conduct related to the gathering and dissemination of
    information."       Glik v. Cunniffe, 
    655 F.3d 78
    , 82 (1st Cir. 2011).
    Confidentiality or anonymity, where prudent, naturally protects
    those who seek to collect or provide information.        Accordingly, it
    is similarly well-settled that the First Amendment's protections
    will at times shield "information gatherers and disseminators,"
    from others' attempts to reveal their identities, unveil their
    sources, or disclose the fruits of their work.            See Cusumano,
    
    162 F.3d at 714
    ; see also McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n,
    
    514 U.S. 334
    , 342 (1995) (noting "an author's decision to remain
    anonymous, like other decisions concerning omissions or additions
    to the content of a publication, is an aspect of the freedom of
    speech protected by the First Amendment"); Talley v. California,
    
    362 U.S. 60
    ,    64   (1960)   (noting   City's   ordinance    banning
    distribution of handbills lacking names and addresses of authors
    and distributors "would tend to restrict freedom to distribute
    information and thereby freedom of expression"); United States v.
    LaRouche Campaign, 
    841 F.2d 1176
    , 1182 (1st Cir. 1988) ("We discern
    a lurking and subtle threat to journalists . . . if disclosure of
    outtakes,     notes,      and   other   unused   information,     even   if
    nonconfidential, becomes routine and casually, if not cavalierly
    compelled.").
    The Appellants in these consolidated cases are academic
    researchers and, as such, axiomatically come within the scope of
    -43-
    these protections, as recognized by this Circuit's settled law.
    See Cusumano, 
    162 F.3d at 714
     ("The same concerns [that advise
    extending First Amendment protections to journalists] suggest that
    courts ought to offer similar protection to academicians engaged in
    scholarly research."). It is also beyond question that the content
    of the materials that the government wishes to obtain may properly
    be characterized as confidential: the Appellants and the Belfast
    Project's custodians have gone to great lengths to prevent their
    unsanctioned disclosure.             See Maj. Op. at 6-7.              The question then
    becomes one concerning the degree of protection to which they are
    entitled.        The manner in which this inquiry unfolds necessarily
    depends     on    context,        not    on    "semantics"       --     the    "unthinking
    allowance" of discovery requests in these circumstances, we have
    warned, will inevitably "impinge upon First Amendment rights."
    Cusumano, 
    162 F.3d at 716
     (quoting Bruno & Stillman, Inc. v. Globe
    Newspaper        Co.,     
    633 F.2d 583
    ,        595-96     (1st    Cir.    1980)).
    Consequently, balancing the interests on either side of such a
    request is both proper and essential.                         See 
    id.
     ("[C]ourts must
    balance the potential harm to the free flow of information that
    might     result        against    the    asserted       need     for    the     requested
    information." (quoting Bruno & Stillman, Inc., 
    633 F.2d at
    595-
    96)).
    Fortunately for this Court's panel -- but unfortunately
    for the Appellants -- the Supreme Court has already done the lion's
    -44-
    share of the work for us. Under the mutual legal assistance treaty
    between the United States and the United Kingdom, the federal
    government has assumed an obligation to assist the United Kingdom
    in its prosecution of domestic criminal matters -- here, a homicide
    -- to the extent permitted by U.S. law.     See UK-MLAT Technical
    Analysis, S. Exec. Rep. No. 104-23, at 11 (noting "MLATs oblige
    each country to assist the other to the extent permitted by their
    laws, and provide a framework for that assistance").28
    In my view, the Appellants cannot carry the day, not
    because they lack a cognizable interest under the First Amendment,
    28
    Appellants also claim that the Attorney General's actions
    are not in compliance with the US-UK-MLAT, among other reasons,
    because "the crimes under investigation by the United Kingdom were
    of 'a political nature.'" Pursuant to Article 3, ¶ 1(c)(i) of the
    treaty the United States may refuse assistance to the United
    Kingdom's request if it relates to "an offense of a political
    nature." Ignoring the underlying and pervasive political nature of
    the "Troubles," as the Irish-British controversy has come to be
    known in Northern Ireland, is simply ignoring one hundred years of
    a well-documented history of political turmoil. These came into
    focus when Ireland was partitioned, and six of its Ulster counties
    were constituted into Northern Ireland as an integral part of the
    United Kingdom by virtue of the Government of Ireland Act of 1920.
    See generally Northern Ireland Politics (Arthur Aughley & Duncan
    Morrow eds.) (1996). That the academic investigations carried out
    by Appellants in this case, and the evidence sought by the United
    Kingdom involve "offenses of a political nature" irrespective of
    how heinous we may consider them, is borne out by the terms of the
    Belfast Agreement (also known as the "Good Friday Agreement")
    entered into by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Irish
    Republican Army, whereby almost all prisoners were released by the
    British government, including many who had been convicted of
    murder. See Karl S. Bottigheirmer & Arthur H. Aughley, Northern
    Ireland, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2007).        Unfortunately for
    Appellants, they are foreclosed from pursuing their claim by virtue
    of Article 1, ¶ 3 of the treaty, which prohibits private parties
    from enforcing any rights thereunder.
    -45-
    but because any such interest has been weighed and measured by the
    Supreme Court and found insufficient to overcome the government's
    paramount concerns in the present context.
    Finally, with regards to the district court's denial of
    the Appellants' motion to intervene as of right under Rule 24(a),
    I harbor doubts as to whether Boston College could ever "adequately
    represent" the interests of academic researchers who have placed
    their   personal   reputations      on    the   line,    exposing    both   their
    livelihoods and well-being to substantial risk in the process.
    Because, for the reasons explained above, I am constrained to agree
    that the Appellants are unable to assert a legally-significant
    protectable interest, as Rule 24(a) commands, see Donaldson v.
    United States, 
    400 U.S. 517
    , 531 (1971), any concerns I may have in
    that regard are regrettably moot.           See Ungar v. Arafat, 
    634 F.3d 46
    , 51 (1st Cir. 2011) ("Each of [Rule 24(a)(2)'s] requirements
    must    be   fulfilled;   failure    to    satisfy      any   of   them   defeats
    intervention as of right.").
    -46-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 11-2511, 12-1159

Citation Numbers: 685 F.3d 1

Judges: Boudin, Lynch, Torruella

Filed Date: 7/6/2012

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 8/5/2023

Authorities (44)

Ungar v. Arafat , 634 F.3d 46 ( 2011 )

United States v. The Larouche Campaign, Appeal of National ... , 841 F.2d 1176 ( 1988 )

Nisselson v. Lernout , 469 F.3d 143 ( 2006 )

Microsoft Corp. v. United States , 162 F.3d 708 ( 1998 )

Ernst & Young v. Depositors Economic Protection Corp. , 45 F.3d 530 ( 1995 )

In Re Special Proceedings , 373 F.3d 37 ( 2004 )

In Re City of Fall River , 470 F.3d 30 ( 2006 )

Glik v. Cunniffe , 655 F.3d 78 ( 2011 )

United States Ex Rel. Hutcheson v. Blackstone Medical, Inc. , 647 F.3d 377 ( 2011 )

McCloskey v. Mueller , 446 F.3d 262 ( 2006 )

Alberto San, Inc. v. Consejo De Titulares Del Condominio ... , 522 F.3d 1 ( 2008 )

New York v. Amgen Inc. , 652 F.3d 103 ( 2011 )

Feliciano-Hernandez v. Pereira-Castillo , 663 F.3d 527 ( 2011 )

united-states-v-nai-fook-li-united-states-v-yiu-ming-kwan-united-states , 206 F.3d 56 ( 2000 )

in-re-subpoena-issued-to-mary-erato-pursuant-to-a-request-of-the , 2 F.3d 11 ( 1993 )

Bruno & Stillman, Inc. v. Globe Newspaper Co. , 633 F.2d 583 ( 1980 )

In Re: Commissioner's Subpoenas. United States of America , 325 F.3d 1287 ( 2003 )

Wilbur Crane Eveland, III v. Director of Central ... , 843 F.2d 46 ( 1988 )

Cook v. Gates , 528 F.3d 42 ( 2008 )

in-re-grand-jury-proceedings-in-the-matter-of-yale-freeman-bruce-randall , 708 F.2d 1571 ( 1983 )

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