> Michael S. McCarthy, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said he could not comment on the specifics of Mr. Ajjawi’s case because of privacy rules.
The irony of this statement is making my head spin
The irony of this statement is making my head spin
They use it even if the subject whose privacy rights they are supposedly and suddenly so interested in protecting explicitly waives it.
Every time you see that comment, just read it as "I am not prepared to offer a defence of our actions".
"We can't talk about why we fired XYZ because we value his privacy."
Meanwhile XYZ is himself going around telling everyone who will listen about how he was screwed over.