[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply!

Nothing illegal was done. I would not have done what the Smithsonian did, but it wasn't illegal. And as others have pointed out, his job is unaffected. He has no claim other than wounded pride.

I'm sure a court will determine one way or another, if the Smithsonian acted within its legal authority, should the case be filed.

And concerning "wounded pride" - especially where "lost earnings capacity" is involved with an assault on a person's reputation - there have been many very large awards, e.g. Largest awards against mass media for loss of reputation

[js1138]

That might be the case if something untrue was said, in other words, slander. Professional opinions are not likely to be judged slander.