A federal appeals court Friday ruled against former Attorney General John Ashcroft, saying the ex-Bush official could be held responsible for people wrongfully held as witnesses after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
A man who was held post-9/11 as a witness in a federal terrorism case will be allowed to sue Ashcroft for violating his constitutional rights, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The government's use of material witnesses after the attacks was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominous chapters of our national history," the court ruling said.
The man held said he lost job opportunities and his marriage fell apart after Ashcroft implemented a policy that arrested and detained people as witnesses without evidence to charge them with a crime.
Read more: MSNBC
