A federal judge in Washington has ruled against President Trump’s attempt to cancel a security clearance for an attorney who represents whistleblowers — specifically, government employees critical of Mr. Trump.
U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali last week rejected the government’s claim that the executive branch retains sole authority over issuing security clearances in the case of attorney Mark Zaid, who has been in the whistleblower practice for more than three decades.
Judge Ali, a Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction ordering the government to restore Mr. Zaid’s security clearance — but the order won’t go into effect until Jan. 13 to give the government time to appeal.
“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 judge wrote in his Dec. 23 order. “This court joins the several others in this district that have enjoined the government from using the summary revocation of security clearances to penalize lawyers for representing people adverse to it.”
Mr. Trump issued in March an order that did away with security clearances for Mr. Zaid and more than a dozen other individuals, saying it was not in the nation’s security interest for them to retain the access. The president later went on to deny former national security and government officials the same access, as well as certain law firms.
It is common for lawyers and their firms to need security clearances to review classified documents when suing the federal government in representing clients from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.
Critics have argued the president’s move to ban security clearances for some people is part of his retribution against his political enemies who had opposed his first administration.
Mr. Zaid had argued against the president’s order, saying it was politically motivated. He claimed the move violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The attorney celebrated the judge’s ruling.
“This is not just a victory for me, it’s an indictment of the Trump administration’s attempts to intimidate and silence the legal community, especially lawyers who represent people who dare to question or hold this government accountable,” Mr. Zaid said.
His past work includes representing a whistleblower in 2019 that set up Mr. Trump’s first impeachment over the phone conversation he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking a probe of the Biden family.
Mr. Trump’s moves to restrict security clearances against Jenner & Block. WilmerHale and Perkins Coie have also been blocked by lower courts.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
