A national security lawyer with a reputation for defending political whistleblowers appeared unfazed by legal threats flung by President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the FBI.
In a legal letter on Friday, Mark Zaid sneered at demands Kash Patel made for Olivia Troye, a former counterterrorism aide to Mike Pence, to “publicly retract defamatory statements” of the MAGA loyalist. Zaid answered Patel’s lawyer Jesse Binnall, a veteran Trump attorney, by first noting that Troye’s statements have been previously stated “by a wide swath of the knowledgeable population.”
He then offered Patel’s attorney a visual image in his letter to reiterate his stance.
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“But to answer your specific question as to Ms. Troye’s intensions as to a retraction, I think Monty Python expresses it best,” Zaid wrote above a photo of a mustached character from the Monty Python film known as the “French Taunter.”
“My counsel @markzaidesq.bsky.social’s response to #KashPatel & his threat to sue me for being critical of him on media & stating he is unfit to serve as FBI Director,” Troye wrote on social media. “Monty Python enters the chat.”
And Zaid wasn’t done. He also launched a social media blitz where he dug into his unwavering defense of his client and referred to Patel as “thin-skinned.”
“His lawyers just sent me a letter threatening to sue my client @oliviaoftroye.com regarding perceived criticism, which was far tamer than many others have publicly said,” Zaid wrote on Bluesky. “Why her? Signals what is abt to begin Jan 20th. #lawfare #retaliation #chaos”
He added that “MAGA lawfare does not scare or deter us.”
A GoFundMe seeking donations for Troye’s legal defense has raised nearly $45,000 of its $75,000 goal over seven months.