A federal judge blocked President Trump's attempt to strip a security clearance from whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid Tuesday, finding that the Trump administration did so in "retribution" and without proper due process.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled Tuesday night that "the government's retribution" against Zaid was "carried out by summarily canceling the attorney's security clearance without any of the process that is afforded to others." Ali said the administration had not conducted an individualized national security assessment of Zaid's clearance before stripping him of it.
The judge also found that Zaid introduced credible evidence that he "cannot properly advise current clients because he is precluded from accessing classified material and using classified information" in their defense.
Zaid sued the Trump administration in May after Mr. Trump rescinded his security clearance, as well as the clearances of prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several members of the Biden administration. Mr. Trump's order said that it was "no longer in the national interest" for Zaid and the other individuals listed to access classified information.
Zaid represented the whistleblower who reported concerns about the president's dealings with Ukraine during his first term, and in Mr. Trump's second term, he's also been retained by many whistleblowers. Zaid had held a security clearance for over two decades....
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