Lawyer of whistleblower in Trump impeachment case sues administration over revoked security clearance

A lawyer who represented a government whistleblower in a case that led to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment sued the Trump administration on Monday for “unconstitutional retaliation” after his security clearance was revoked.

Lawyer Mark Zaid argued that the administration’s decision to pull his clearance in March was in retaliation for representing former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief Brian Murphy, who was key to Trump’s 2019 impeachment.

Murphy filed a whistleblower complaint in 2019 alleging Trump, amid his re-election campaign, pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate then-U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine. 

The U.S. House of Representatives voted later that year to impeach Trump for abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress, but he was later acquitted by the Senate.

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A lawyer who represented a whistleblower who was key to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment sued the administration for pulling his security clearance. (Reuters/Leah Millis)

Zaid’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims the decision to rescind his security clearance represents a “dangerous, unconstitutional retaliation by the President of the United States against his perceived political enemies” that “eschews any semblance of due process.”

The complaint accuses the Trump administration of violating the Administrative Procedures Act, the First Amendment and parts of the Fifth Amendment.

“No American should lose their livelihood, or be blocked as a lawyer from representing clients, because a president carries a grudge toward them or who they represent,”  Zaid said in a statement. “This isn’t just about me. It’s about using security clearances as political weapons.”

Lawyer Mark Zaid argued that the administration’s decision to revoke his clearance in March was in retaliation for representing former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief Brian Murphy. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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The lawsuit cites a 2019 incident in which Trump called Zaid a “sleazeball” at a Louisiana rally and told reporters that the lawyer was a “disgrace” who “should be sued.”

The move to pull Zaid’s clearance was “a bald-faced attack on a sacred constitutional guarantee: the right to petition the court or federal agencies on behalf of clients,” the lawsuit says, noting that 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.”

Trump has also revoked clearances of several other political foes, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and his own former national security advisor John Bolton, as well as attorneys at other law firms.

The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the Administrative Procedures Act, the First Amendment and parts of the Fifth Amendment. (Pool via AP)

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Zaid urged the court to rule that Trump’s revocation decision was unconstitutional and reinstate his clearance. He has had access to classified information since 1995 and a security clearance since 2002.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.