WASHINGTON – A prominent Washington attorney sued the Trump administration Monday over the revocation of his security clearance, calling it an act of “improper political retribution” that jeopardizes his ability to continue representing clients in sensitive national security cases.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, challenges a March presidential memorandum that singled out attorney Mark Zaid and 14 other individuals who the White House asserted were unsuitable to retain their clearances because it was “no longer in the national interest.” The list included targets of Trump’s fury from both the political and legal spheres, including former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former President Joe Biden and members of his family.
The action was part of a much broader retribution campaign that Trump has waged since returning to the White House, including by directing specific Justice Department investigations against perceived adversaries and issuing sweeping executive orders targeting law firms over legal work he does not like.
Since the memo was issued, his lawsuit says, Zaid has been informed by government agencies including the CIA that he can no longer access classified information in ongoing matters in light of Trump’s order. The “immediate effect” is that Zaid cannot continue to work for clients in cases that require his ability to review classified materials, “undermining his ability to continue to represent them and zealously advocate on their behalf in the national security arena,” according to the lawsuit.
“By implementing the Memorandum, Defendants have strayed far afield of any deference granted to them by existing case law. Instead, they have launched a bald-faced attack on a sacred constitutional guarantee: the right to petition the court or federal agencies on behalf of clients,” the lawsuit states. “An attack on this right is especially insidious because it jeopardizes Mr. Zaid’s ability to pursue and represent the rights of others without fear of retribution.”
The lawsuit was filed by a team of lawyers including Abbe Lowell, a veteran Washington lawyer who last week announced that he was opening his own legal practice and would represent targets of Trump’s retribution. Other clients include James, the New York attorney general, as well as Miles Taylor, who served in Trump’s first administration and was later revealed to be the author of an anonymous New York Times op-ed in 2018 that was sharply critical of Trump. Trump last month directed the Justice Department to investigate Taylor’s activities.
Zaid says in his lawsuit that he has represented clients across the political spectrum over nearly 35 years, including government officials, law enforcement and military officials and whistleblowers. In 2019, he represented an intelligence community whistleblower whose account of a conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy helped set the stage for the first of two impeachment cases against Trump in his first term.
“His significant experience and qualifications make him remarkably valuable as counsel to current and former federal employees who require legal advice. As a lawyer well-versed in suing the United States Government,” the lawsuit says, “he is no stranger to identifying overreach and exposing the abuse of power. And that is exactly why he is being targeted now.”
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