Famed national security lawyer Mark Zaid has won back his security clearance, a federal judge ruled late Tuesday.
In late March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order stripping Zaid and several other high-profile individuals of security clearances.
The order said the president "determined that it is no longer in the national interest" for those individuals — many of whom are, or might be perceived as, Trump critics – to "access classified information."
In early May, Zaid sued in Washington, D.C., federal court, assailing the 45th and 47th president's order as "improper political retribution" and "dangerous, unconstitutional retaliation."
Now, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, has strongly sided with the plaintiff in a 39-page memorandum opinion and order.
"The Constitution forbids government officials from using their power to retaliate against people for their speech, and that is so even when the speech is critical of the government," the opinion begins.
The court also quickly cuts to the heart of the matter in a way that clearly foreshadows the eventual win for the plaintiff.
"This case involves the government's retribution against a lawyer because he represented whistleblowers and other clients who complained about the government, carried out by summarily canceling the attorney's security clearance without any of the process that is afforded to others," the opinion goes on. "In defending its actions, the government does not meaningfully...
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