Snepp v. United States

Summary

The Court held that Snepp breached his CIA employment and secrecy agreements by publishing a book about Agency activities without submitting it for prepublication review, even though the Government did not contend that the book contained classified information. Because the breach violated a fiduciary obligation and caused harms that were difficult to quantify, the Court held that the Government was entitled to a constructive trust over profits attributable to the breach. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals insofar as it denied that remedy and remanded for reinstatement of the District Court's full judgment.