The TSA has been doing a pretty good job of keeping airline passengers safe by instituting new security measures and protocols throughout the nation. They are about to be doing some serious crisis management, though, after a major misstep involving presidential campaign funds, an iPhone and the U.S. Constitution.
Steve Bierfeldt, director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, a part of the Ron Paul presidential campaign, was returning from a conference when TSA screeners detained him. They had spotted a metal cash box containing over $4,700, all proceeds from the sale of political merchandise such as books and T-shirts. Although there are no restrictions on carrying large sums of cash on flights in the U.S., Bierfeldt was quickly taken to a locked, windowless room for questioning.
The problem for the TSA? Bierfeldt managed to secretly activate the voice recording function on his iPhone and captured their (allegedly) harsh questioning quite clearly. The following is an excerpt taken from a CNN.com article.
Officer: Why do you have this money? That’s the question, that’s the major question.
Bierfeldt: Yes, sir, and I’m asking whether I’m legally required to answer that question.
Officer: Answer that question first, why do you have this money.
Bierfeldt: Am I legally required to answer that question?
Officer: So you refuse to answer that question?
Bierfeldt: No, sir, I am not refusing.
Officer: Well, you’re not answering.
Bierfeldt: I’m simply asking my rights under the law.
The officers can be heard saying they will involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and appear to threaten arrest, saying they are going to transport Bierfeldt to the local police station, in handcuffs if necessary.
The officers let him go once they determined the funds to be campaign contributions, but the damage was done. The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of Bierfeldt, and he’s been making his case in the press.
“I asked them, ‘Am I required by law to tell you what you’re asking me? Am I required to tell you where I am working? Am I required to tell you how I got the cash? Nothing I’ve done is suspicious. I’m not breaking any laws. I just want to go to my flight. Please advise me as to my rights.’ And they didn’t.”
If anything, this speaks volumes to the power of the cell phone. The average person carries a high-quality voice recorder and camera in their front pocket that they are extremely eager to use. We will see the TSA’s crisis response strategy unfold over the coming days, they’ve already taken “disciplinary action” against one employee for inappropriate tone and language, it should be very interesting to see what follows.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com