Federal Judge Bars Trump Revocation of Attorney’s Security Clearance

A federal judge in Washington has stopped the Trump administration’s effort to revoke the security clearance of attorney Mark Zaid, determining that a presidential memorandum against him and 14 others cannot be enforced.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali granted Zaid’s request for a preliminary injunction after a lawsuit, which was filed in May, that alleged that the action was political retribution. The order, issued on Dec. 23, halts the revocation that prevented Zaid from representing clients in matters pertaining to national security.

“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,” Ali wrote in his ruling.

Ali’s injunction goes into effect Jan. 13, 2026, and does not prevent the government from pursuing revocation via agency procedures unrelated to the memorandum.

President Donald Trump on March 22 revoked security clearances of more than 15 prominent political figures, including Zaid, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former President Joe Biden and his family members.

“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump stated in his presidential memo.

The memo directed heads of executive departments and agencies to stop allowing the named individuals access to classified information. The order applies to classified briefings and any access to classified information that the named individuals may have had based on their previous tenure in Congress.

“I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals,” Trump stated.

The memo included security revocations for former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

Zaid has represented government officials, whistleblowers, and military personnel, including Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, whose description of a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy led in part to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019. Trump has said the whistleblower’s description was politically motivated.

“This is not just a victory for me,” Zaid said in a statement following Ali’s ruling. “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.”

The former intelligence officials were accused of engaging in partisan politics by discrediting the reports ahead of the 2020 election, while the action against Bolton stemmed from his memoir, which the Trump administration said posed “a grave risk” of exposing classified material.

In March, judges partially blocked orders against law firms Jenner & Block and another unknown firm, ruling them unconstitutional for revoking clearances and ending contracts. In May, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon stated that the order violated the firm’s rights to free speech and due process, highlighting that it uses sanctions and other forms of “coercion” to suppress WilmerHale’s “representation of disfavored causes and clients.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report