‘Backhanded compliment’: Lawyer vows fierce fight as he's put on Trump retribution list

A lawyer involved in the first impeachment case of Donald Trump has vowed to fight back after the reelected president added him to a growing list of targets for retribution.

The New York Times reported Monday that Trump’s enemies dossier has grown exponentially during his first weeks in office.

And on it is Norm Eisen, a former ambassador who was central to the Democrats’ attempt to impeach Trump over involvement in Ukraine, of which he was acquitted in 2020.

Since then, Eisen has represented FBI agents in the Jan. 6 investigation, has become a frequent critic of Trump, and is a member of a team of lawyers challenging Elon Musk’s incursion in the the Treasury Department’s data.

“I take it as a backhanded compliment,” he told the Times when asked about Trump adding him to his list.

“It’s going to encourage additional activity on my part,” he said. “So prepare for many more lawsuits.”

The Times revealed many names that Trump has shown he is seeking retribution against.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer who worked with a whistle-blower during the first impeachment case, said he found out while at a wedding that his security detail had been revoked.

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“I’m doing the same thing I have done since the day I set foot in Washington, D.C., 32 years ago,” Mr. Zaid said. “All I do is hold the administration — whoever that is, Republican or Democrat — accountable for unlawful and ethical lapses.”

He went on, “It is more than obvious that Trump is fulfilling the promises that he made and campaigned on, that he would retaliate against those who did him wrong.”

The drive for revenge from the now-president has “little analogue in American history,” the Times reported.

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“There are people that we don’t respect,” Trump said. “If there are people that we thought that were breaking the law, came very close to it, in previous years, we do it.”

Among those the Times wrote were being targeted are:

• The inspector general for U.S. Agency for International Development who was fired after a critical report on the administration’s actions.
• Journalists who have been attacked by name, with Elon Musk demanding one be fired after an article revealing a member of Musk’s team had posted racist comments.
• The Associated Press, which was blocked from much White House coverage because of a policy of not changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America.
• Former President Joe Biden and many previous administration officials who have had their security revoked. They include former national security adviser John R. Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his aide, Brian Hook. All have credible threats made against them by Iran.

“We’re in some uncharted waters,” said Nicole Hemmer, an associate professor of history at Vanderbilt University. “It is the combination of the single-minded revenge focus, coupled with the unchecked use of executive power that makes this particularly dangerous.”