National security lawyer Mark Zaid is no stranger to suing the government – but usually on behalf of his own clients.
Now, as a plaintiff himself, Zaid's attorneys want a federal judge to consider him akin to several Big Law firms targeted by President Donald Trump in a series of successively enjoined executive orders.
In late March, the 45th and 47th president stripped Zaid and 14 other high-profile individuals of security clearances in an executive order.
Unlike the bombast contained in the actions targeting those disfavored law firms, the executive order simply said the president "determined that it is no longer in the national interest" for the 15 named individuals — many of whom are, or might be perceived as, critics or enemies of Trump — to "access classified information."
But Zaid's law practice relies on such access.
During a Friday hearing on motions for a preliminary injunction – filed by the plaintiff – and to dismiss – filed by the government – Zaid's attorneys argued that his legal work was highly-specialized and necessitated a quick return to the status quo.
"For 30 years, he has carved out a very specialized niche," attorney Abbe Lowell said, according to a courtroom report by Bloomberg Law.
Lowell went on tell U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, that Zaid was therefore uniquely situated and in...
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