Scott Horton (2008) described the actions of Birmingham, Alabama U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, who has used her position to pursue a number of questionable cases against a variety of individuals and businesses. Notable in Martin's performance is her effort to punish a company called Axion for allegedly giving restricted documentation regarding critical parts for a Blackhawk helicopter to a Chinese company which was providing materials to Axion. The case was ultimately dismissed and Axion was awarded costs and attorneys fees because the government was found to have acted unfairly under the AECA framework.
The ethical issues involved in the case against Martin center on (1) whether she has misused her position to target businesses owned by Democrats or Democratic officials; (2) misused her position to target an Iranian-American business (Axion) to provide the Bush administration with an opportunity to ramp up activities against Iran; and (3) misused her position to provide support for arms export control efforts undertaken by the federal government.
Calvi and Coleman (2004) state that government agencies must be especially cautious in using their authority in a manner that might be construed as having political rather than legal implications. There is certainly evidence that Martin in her role as U.S. Attorney has attempted to target Democratic lawmakers in the Alabama legislature and has also pursued charges against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Miller and Jentz (1994) maintain that law enforcement agencies have an obligation to address these kinds of cases, but the close ties between Martin and high-ranking Bush administration officials such as Karl Rove lend credence to the idea that some of her decisions were politically motivated.
Businesses like Axion which operate in fields where some materials may be classified for national security purposes have an obligation to ensure confidentiality o...