EPA Complains About Employees' YouTube Video

FederalNewsRadio has a report about two Environmental Protection Agency lawyers who posted a video to YouTube discussing their views on cap-and-trade legislation:

A few days after an op-ed by the couple was published in the Washington Post, a directive to the couple was sent by the EPA, instructing them to remove the the video from YouTube and edit it to be "compliant with 5 CFR § 2635.807(b)" and that failure to do so "could lead to disciplinary action."

William Bransford, partner with Shaw, Bransford & Roth, tells FederalNewsRadio ...

I think there's a difference between just telling somebody "well I work at EPA" which is really kind of a matter of public record, versus "I work at EPA and because of my position and what I do, I believe this is a good idea," and you're speaking for yourself personally and not necessarily as a member of the EPA.

The real question, said Bransford, is whether the two used their government position to push a personal issue or not. "Just mentioning that you work there," said Bransford, "I'm not sure that it rises to that level, but obviously somebody in their General Counsel's office thinks to the contrary."

A Government Executive story includes the agency's position and the Wall Street Journal's Opinion section has its assessment of the matter.