a marine corps reserve officer won a temporary victory in federal court friday, effectively blocking a discharge order handed down after he was found to have improperly handled classified information, something his lawyer called a minor transgression compared with hillary clinton <u+2019>s security lapses . the court appearance was the culmination of maj. jason brezler <u+2019>s<u+00a0>long-running<u+00a0>effort to reverse a marine decision to discharge him<u+00a0>and<u+00a0>to prove that top generals, including the commandant of the marine corps, punished him because he brought attention to alleged mistakes that led to the deaths of three troops in afghanistan. u.s. district judge joseph bianco told the marine corps to temporarily hold its decision to discharge maj. brezler. he also gave lawyers for the marines just over a week to provide more information about the details of the case. <u+201c>they have 10 days to show proof they didn<u+2019>t retaliate against him,<u+201d> said michael bowe, maj. brezler<u+2019>s lawyer. the marine corps didn<u+2019>t respond immediately to a request for comment. maj. brezler, of brooklyn, has argued his infraction occurred during an emergency effort to warn fellow marines of an imminent threat in afghanistan. mr. bowe said he had planned to make mrs. clinton<u+2019>s email transgressions part of his argument at the hearing but didn<u+2019>t have time to do so because it proceeded quickly. mrs. clinton made use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state from 2009-2013. federal bureau of investigation officials found in july that she and colleagues were <u+201c>extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,<u+201d> but fbi director james comey recommended against prosecution . the marine corps case stretches back more than half a decade, beginning when maj. brezler, an officer in the marine corps reserve, was deployed to afghanistan in 2010 and identified an afghan police officer<u+00a0>whom he deemed a threat to u.s. forces. u.s. officials found the policeman to be corrupt and that he trafficked in young boys as part of a sex-slave practice known as bacha bazi in afghanistan. maj. brezler worked to expel the afghan officer<u+00a0>from his post. two years later,<u+00a0>according to court documents, in 2012, maj. brezler discovered the afghan officer<u+00a0>again had taken up an official post with the afghan police and had resumed working with u.s. forces. saying he wanted to immediately warn fellow marines, maj. brezler<u+00a0>sent<u+00a0>a classified document over civilian email. despite<u+00a0>the email, u.s.<u+00a0>officials didn<u+2019>t remove<u+00a0>the afghan officer<u+00a0>from his position and<u+00a0>two weeks later, in august 2012, one of the afghan<u+2019>s<u+00a0>subordinates grabbed a rifle and shot dead three marine advisers working with him. afterward,<u+00a0>rep. peter king (r., n.y.), who knew of maj. brezler<u+2019>s actions, sought information from the marine corps. about the same time, the marine corps times published an article about the deaths, raising the public profile on the incident and drawing heightened attention from top marines, including then-marine corps commandant gen. jim amos, according to emails obtained in the case by maj. brezler<u+2019>s law team. gen. amos, now retired, couldn<u+2019>t be reached for comment. maj. brezler<u+2019>s superiors recommended he be sent to a board of inquiry, a hearing that can recommend separation from the corps, and gave him a negative performance evaluation, considered a career-ending action. maj. brezler maintains the move represented retaliation for the publicity. the marines declined to comment on specifics of the case. <u+201c>due to ongoing litigation, it would be inappropriate for the marine corps to comment upon this matter,<u+201d> said a statement before friday<u+2019>s hearing. <u+201c>however, the marine corps maintains confidence in the legal and administrative processes that have occurred to date regarding maj. jason brezler.<u+201d> at the board of inquiry, investigators presented evidence that maj. brezler had classified documents on his personal computer, a violation of policy, and that he further mishandled the documents by emailing one of them on a civilian account. maj. brezler<u+2019>s lawyers say the documents were held over on his computer because the marines didn<u+2019>t provide him a computer when he was deployed and he neglected to delete them upon returning home. and the email, although technically a violation, was an attempt to save lives. <u+201c>maj. brezler, instead of being given a medal, is being removed from the military,<u+201d> said mr. king, whose district included the residence of one of the marines killed in the august 2012 shooting. <u+201c>his mistake was he wanted to save lives.<u+201d> maj. brezler<u+2019>s defense is multipronged, arguing that at each step of the administrative process, senior marines broke from official protocol. his lawyer also claimed maj. brezler<u+2019>s mishandling of classified information, though improper, wasn<u+2019>t uncommon and that merely having classified information on a computer is no reason for such extreme measures, citing the lack of punishment for mrs. clinton as precedent. retired lt. col. james weirick, who was a lawyer in the marines and who has publicly challenged marine leadership on whistleblowing issues, said it isn<u+2019>t uncommon for people to return from combat zones with low-level classified information on computers they used in country and that it is extraordinarily rare for them to be punished for it. write to ben kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com
judge temporarily blocks marine<u+2019>s discharge involving classified information - wsj
ben kesling