SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A "covert employee of the CIA" claims his boss discriminated and retaliated against him - putting him on "Double Secret Probation" - because he has an Asian wife. Walter Roule claims the supervisor promoted junior officers with Caucasian wives to assignments overseas and threatened other officers of Asian descent or with Asian wives with that their careers would suffer if they participated in the CIA's investigation of his complaint against his boss.
In his federal complaint, Roule says that in late 2006 he was "a covert employee of the CIA, [and] worked in the Northern District of California in a hybrid position."
He claims that for a week in mid-December, his supervisor, "using Agency communication systems, knowingly made discriminatory, defamatory, and false statements about plaintiff and his activities, singling him out from other employees due to the race and national origin of plaintiff's spouse."
He claims his boss "continued to harass plaintiff by threatening to remove him from his assignment in the Northern District of California and also specifically stating the negative effect that such removal would have on plaintiff's Asian spouse.
"Plaintiff's supervisor compounded the discriminatory conduct by intimidating plaintiff with threats of retaliation for discussing the supervisor's threats, harassment, and discrimination with anyone, causing plaintiff's career to suffer."
He claims his supervisor "prevented plaintiff from addressing the harassment and discrimination with higher-level management by threatening to take away plaintiff's covert communication system, access to which is vital for an officer's safety and indispensable to an officer's ability to perform his job.
"On January 8, 2007, plaintiff's supervisor further told plaintiff that he was on 'Double Secret Probation' without the knowledge of plaintiff's component management and refused to authorize plaintiff to perform the functions necessary to his job duties including operational travel. Other similarly situated co-workers with Caucasian wives were not denied the opportunity to perform their job duties."
When he complained to the Inspector General, Roule says, his supervisor revoked his security clearances and prevented him "from accessing lines of communication and avenues of redress."
On Oct. 9, 2007, Roule says, his supervisor retaliated against him "by speaking individually behind closed doors with all plaintiff's co-workers and threatening officers of Asian descent or officers who had Asian spouses that their careers would be negatively impacted if they participated in the Agency's investigation."
On Oct. 11, 2007, he says, a member of CIA management informed him "that his assignment was canceled because a co-worker reported that plaintiff intended to pursue his statutory right to complaint about the discrimination, harassment, and threats and seek redress with IGO."
Roule demands lost wages and compensatory damages for discrimination and retaliation.
His attorney, Chia-li Bruce with Bruce Stone, was unavailable for comment.
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