{{Short description|American lawyer}} {{Citation style|date=September 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Mark Zaid |birth_date = 1967<ref name="comicsashistory">{{cite web|url=http://diamondcomics.com/Article/19203|title=From The Scoop: Comics As History - Mark Zaid|date=2022-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406185620/https://www.diamondcomics.com/Article/19203-From-The-Scoop-Comics-As-History---Mark-Zaid|archive-date=2022-04-06}}</ref> |birth_place = Manhasset, New York<ref name="comicsashistory"/> |death_date = |death_place = |party = Independent |education = University of Rochester (BA)<br/>Albany Law School (JD) }} '''Mark S. Zaid''' (born 1967) is an American attorney based in Washington, D.C. with a practice focused on national security law, freedom of speech constitutional claims, and government accountability.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first =Jack |date=2009-05-05 |title=The CIA's Fight With Obama |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/05/05/the_cias_fight_with_obama_96333.html |access-date=May 14, 2009 |website=Real Clear Politics}}</ref>
In 1998, Zaid founded the James Madison Project, an organization dedicated to reducing government secrecy.<ref>{{cite press release|last=Zaid |first=Mark |date=October 5, 1998 |title=The James Madison Project begins operations |url=https://jamesmadisonproject.org/press.php?press_id=18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202192757/https://jamesmadisonproject.org/press.php?press_id=18 |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |publisher=James Madison Project}}</ref> It is interested in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and government whistleblowers. He is a co-editor of ''Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws 2008 |date=September 26, 2008 |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center |isbn=978-0982163405 |editor-last=Hammitt |editor-first=Harry A. |editor-last2=Rotenberg |editor-first2=Marc |editor-last3=Verdi |editor-first3=John A. |editor-last4=Zaid |editor-first4=Mark S.}}</ref> He is a co-founder of a legal organization called Whistleblower Aid, intended to help whistleblowers forward their concerns without incurring legal liability.<ref name="WaPo18Sep2017" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://whistlebloweraid.org/about/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=Whistleblower Aid |quote=Mark S. Zaid, P.C., Founding Legal Partner}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Born in Manhasset, New York in 1967, Zaid is the grandson of Rabbi David Max Eichhorn.<ref name="comicsashistory"/> In 2004, Zaid published a book of his grandfather's letters about his experiences in World War II and the Holocaust as a U.S. Army Chaplain.<ref name="radiosefarad">{{cite web|url=https://www.radiosefarad.com/the-gis-rabbi-world-war-ii-letters-of-david-max-eichhorn-with-mark-zaid/|title=The GI's Rabbi: World War II Letters of David Max Eichhorn, with Mark Zaid|date=2024-06-25|publisher=Radio Sefarad}}</ref> He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York and a 1992 graduate of Albany Law School of Union University in Albany, where he served as an associate editor of the Albany Law Review.<ref name="bio">[https://compassrosepllc.com/zaid/ Official Mark Zaid website biography]. Accessed October 6, 2019.</ref>
While a student at Albany Law School, Zaid was an intern of Stan Lundine, the lieutenant governor of New York.
== Practice == Zaid's practice is in litigation and lobbying on matters relating to national security, federal employment, foreign sovereign, and diplomatic immunity, international transactions, international torts and crimes, defamation, the Constitution (the First and Fifth Amendments), and the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOI/PA).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V63N2-3/after.html|title=Rochester Review • University of Rochester|first=Joseph P. Sr.|last=Chakalis|website=rochester.edu}}</ref> He practices at Compass Rose Legal Group in Washington, D.C..<ref name=Allyn />
Through his practice, Zaid often represents former or current federal employees, intelligence officers, and whistleblowers who have grievances against agencies of the United States government or foreign governments. Additionally, he represents members of the media and the public in First Amendment and FOI/PA disputes. He has handled national security matters including security clearance revocations/denials, inspector general investigations, and other employment issues throughout the national security and military communities. He teaches the D.C. Bar CLE (continuing legal education) courses on FOIA and security clearances.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=January&artYear=2009&EntryNo=9310|title=The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel - The Leading Source For In-House Counsel|website=metrocorpcounsel.com|access-date=May 15, 2009|archive-date=September 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929002440/http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=January&artYear=2009&EntryNo=9310|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/resources/publications/washington_lawyer/february_2008/happenings.cfm |title=Bar Happenings |date=February 2008 |website=dcbar.org|access-date=May 15, 2009|archive-date=February 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215075959/http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/resources/publications/washington_lawyer/february_2008/happenings.cfm|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also teaches as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.<ref name=bio /> On 11 October 1994 he testified at a public hearing of the Assassination Records Review Board in Washington, DC.<ref>{{cite book |title=Final Report of the Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board |date=1999 |publisher=DIANE Publishing Company |page=208}}</ref>
Some of his cases are well known, such as suing Libya for the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which resulted in a $2.7 billion settlement, the largest of its kind against a foreign government for terrorist activities,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.victimsofpanamflight103.org/government_un/interviews/global_focus|title=Global Focus: CHAT ABOUT THE LOCKERBIE BOMBING|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804025302/https://www.victimsofpanamflight103.org/government_un/interviews/global_focus|archive-date=August 4, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,94679,00.html|title=Libya, Families of Victims of Pan Am 103 Bombing Agree on $2.7B Compensation Fund|website=Fox News|date=August 14, 2003}}</ref> and obtaining a court-ordered injunction in 2004 which effectively shut down the United States Department of Defense's mandatory anthrax vaccination program for two years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/articles/judgehalts.html|title=Judge Halts Mandatory Anthrax Vaccination For Military|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820013925/http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/articles/judgehalts.html|archive-date=August 20, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_anthrax_102804,00.html|title=Military.com|website=military.com}}</ref>
Zaid has been quoted in print and online news reports as an expert in national security law and FOIA law.<ref>Kara Scanell, "SEC Gets FOIA Foil in Financial Law: Regulatory Revamp Gives Agency Greater Rein to Deny Document Requests; 'Is That a Good Thing?'." ''Wall Street Journal'', July 31, 2010. Found at [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704532204575397830815609368 WSJ online]. Cited at The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, "Freedom of information: Debate continues over scope of SEC FOIA exemption," August 4, 2010, found at [http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11507 The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611173324/http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11507 |date=June 11, 2011 }}. Both accessed August 6, 2010.</ref><ref>Andrea Stone, "WikiLeaks Diaries Raise Question: Is Secrecy Dead?" ''AOL News'', July 26, 2010. Found at [http://www.aolnews.com/article/wikileaks-diaries-raise-question-is-secrecy-dead/19568479 AOL News website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729134426/http://www.aolnews.com/article/wikileaks-diaries-raise-question-is-secrecy-dead/19568479 |date=July 29, 2010}}. Accessed August 6, 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/398478-trump-mulls-move-against-intel-critics/|title=Trump mulls move against intel critics|first=Morgan|last=Chalfant|work=The Hill|date=July 23, 2018|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> He has appeared as a commentator on CNN<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0309/01/se.10.html CNN website].</ref> and MSNBC.<ref>See [http://www.NBC News.msn.com/id/9118826 NBC News website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802213649/http://nbc/ |date=August 2, 2013 }} and [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12954027 NBC News website].</ref>
On September 8, 2016, Thomas J. Colbert, the author of the book The Last Master Outlaw, and Mark Zaid filed a lawsuit to compel the Federal Bureau of Investigation to release its D.B. Cooper case file under the Freedom of Information Act. The suit alleges that the FBI suspended active investigation of the Cooper case "in order to undermine the theory that Rackstraw is D.B. Cooper so as to prevent embarrassment for the bureau's failure to develop evidence sufficient to prosecute him for the crime."<ref name="oregonian">[http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/09/lawsuit_filed_against_fbi_to_m.html Lawsuit filed against FBI to make D.B. Cooper investigation file public]. ''The Oregonian'' (September 8, 2016), retrieved September 22, 2016.</ref>
He was a member of the legal team, led by Andrew Bakaj, representing the whistleblower whose complaint against President Donald Trump sparked a major political scandal and led to the launching of an impeachment inquiry against the president. Zaid had been critical of Trump long before he began representing the whistleblower. He said the team is also working with a second whistleblower who has spoken with authorities, but had not filed a formal complaint {{As of|2019|10|alt=as of October 6}}.<ref name=Allyn>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/06/767675638/second-whistleblower-with-direct-knowledge-of-ukraine-call-steps-forward-lawyer-|title=Second Whistleblower With Direct Knowledge Of Ukraine Call Steps Forward, Lawyer Says|last=Allyn|first=Bobby|date=October 6, 2019|work=NPR|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>
In February 2020, federal authorities indicted a Michigan man for threatening Zaid and his Ukraine whistleblower client by email in November 2019, purportedly saying, "All traitors must die miserable deaths."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/whistleblower-ukraine-impeachment-threats-1488293 |title='You Are Running Out' of Time: Feds Charge Michigan Man with Threatening Ukraine Whistleblower, Attorney |work=Newsweek |date=20 February 2020 |access-date=20 February 2020 |author=Stockler, Asher}}</ref> The man allegedly sent the message the day after President Trump, at a rally in Louisiana, held up a photo of Zaid and said, "From the lawyer, a sleazeball," before reading tweets from Zaid predicting that the president would not last out his first term.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bleed-you-out-pig-feds-bust-man-threatening-trump-whistleblower-n1139996 |title='Bleed you out' like a pig: Feds bust man for threatening Trump whistleblower lawyer |work=NBC News |date=20 February 2020 |access-date=20 February 2020 |author=Schapiro, Rich}}</ref> The man pleaded guilty in December 2020 and in June 2021 he was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison, followed by three years of probation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2020/12/michigan-man-pleads-guilty-to-threatening-to-hunt-down-trump-whistleblowers-lawyer.html|title=Michigan man pleads guilty to threatening to 'hunt down' Trump whistleblower's lawyer|date=December 1, 2020|website=mlive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2021/06/michigan-man-gets-prison-for-email-threat-to-trump-whistleblowers-attorney.html|title=Michigan man gets prison for email threat to Trump whistleblower's attorney|date=June 10, 2021|website=mlive}}</ref>
Citing his "'high profile' work," Zaid's malpractice carrier, Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester, Massachusetts dropped his coverage in 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/whistle-blower-lawyer-insurance.html|title=Insurer Won't Keep Lawyer Who Helped Whistle-Blower|first=Maggie|last=Haberman|work=New York Times|date=August 25, 2020|page=A20|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref> The ''ABA Journal'' specifically cited as the reason the insurance company had "no appetite" for Zaid's work for the whistleblower whose report lead the first impeachment of Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer-who-represented-ukraine-whistleblower-loses-malpractice-insurance-due-to-high-profile-work|title=Lawyer who represents whistleblowers loses malpractice insurance because of 'high-profile' work|first=Debbie|last=Cassens Weiss|work=ABA Journal|date=August 25, 2020|page=A20|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref> Both the speculation that Hanover had done it for that reason and the outrage against it, were widely reported.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/insurance-company-sparks-outrage-speculation-by-dropping-ukraine-whistleblowers-lawyer-as-a-client/|title=Insurance Company Sparks Outrage, Speculation by Dropping Ukraine Whistleblower's Lawyer as a Client|first=Colin|last=Kalmbacher|work=Law and Order|date=August 25, 2020|page=A20|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref> In August 2022, Zaid's firm took on former White House security advisor Olivia Troye's defense in a defamation lawsuit by former ambassador Richard Grenell.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-30 |title=I (w/ my lawyers) accept service of the baseless defamation suit from #RichardGrenell |url=https://twitter.com/oliviatroye/status/1564621811001720839 |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> Zaid also filed a lawsuit on behalf of former Monkees band member Micky Dolenz against the FBI to obtain its file on the band from the 1960s for its public opposition to the controversial Vietnam War.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2022-08-30 |title=The Monkees' Micky Dolenz Would Like a Word With the FBI |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-fbi-1234584299/ |access-date=2022-08-31 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=2022-08-30 |title=Micky Dolenz Sues FBI to Get Full File on The Monkees |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/micky-dolenz-monkees-sues-fbi-1235133063/ |access-date=2022-08-31 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-30 |title=Micky Dolenz, Last Surviving Monkee, Sues To See Unredacted FBI Files On Band |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/micky-dolenz-fbi-file-lawsuit_n_630e5423e4b065bfc4b29edc |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>
In November 2024, Zaid told Politico that he was advising some clients to temporarily leave the United States in an effort to avoid arrest as part of prosecution for what he claimed could be politically motivated prosecutions by the incoming Trump administration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Ian |date=2024-11-18 |title=This Lawyer Has Some Advice for Trump's Would-Be Targets: Take A Vacation |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/18/targeted-by-the-trump-administration-00189878 |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2025, Donald Trump revoked Zaid's security clearance.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Green |first1=Erica L. |last2=Meko |first2=Hurubie |last3=Feuer |first3=Alan |date=2025-02-09 |title=Trump to Revoke Security Clearances for Antony Blinken, Letitia James and Alvin Bragg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/us/politics/trump-blinken-james-bragg-security-clearances.html |access-date=2025-02-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/tulsi-gabbard-pulls-security-clearances-top-biden-officials-went-trump-rcna195748|title=Tulsi Gabbard pulls security clearances for top Biden officials and those who went after Trump: In addition to former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, clearances were also revoked for the New York AG and the Manhattan DA.|website=NBC News|quote=Under Gabbard’s action, Mark Zaid, a lawyer who has represented whistleblowers in the intelligence community for years, was stripped of his security clearance. Zaid represented an intelligence officer who filed a whistleblower complaint to Congress in 2019 over a phone call during Trump’s first term, in which he appeared to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take actions to help Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. The complaint prompted an impeachment inquiry in the House. Trump was formally impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.|date=March 10, 2025|first=Dan |last=De Luce|access-date=March 11, 2025}}</ref>
=== Whistleblower Aid === In September 2017, Zaid and former United States State Department whistleblower John Tye co-founded Whistleblower Aid, a legal organization which assists people in the government and the private sector to safely report lawbreaking.<ref name=":0" /> Initially focused on employees and contractors of the U.S. federal government, Whistleblower Aid emphasizes it is not WikiLeaks. "No one should ever send classified information to Whistleblower Aid," the firm said. "Whistleblower Aid will never assist clients or prospective clients with leaking classified information." Instead, would-be whistleblowers with classified information will be directed to investigators with security clearances to help expose wrongdoing without breaking the law or incurring criminal liability.<ref name="WaPo18Sep2017">{{Cite news|author=Morello, Carol|title=Former whistleblower starts legal aid group to guide would-be tipsters|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 18, 2017|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-whistleblower-starts-company-to-give-advice-to-would-be-tipsters/2017/09/17/711049e4-e55d-40c5-b71a-50032851a7f4_story.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whistlebloweraid.org/mission/|title=Former whistleblower starts legal aid group to guide would-be tipsters|publisher=Whistleblower Aid|access-date=September 19, 2017|archive-date=September 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920045239/https://whistlebloweraid.org/mission/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== See also == * ''United States v. Reynolds''
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|1=https://markzaid.com/}} * [http://www.jamesmadisonproject.org The James Madison Project] * [https://whistlebloweraid.org/ Whistleblower Aid] * {{C-SPAN|59484}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaid, Mark}} Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Category:Whistleblowing in the United States Category:American freedom of information activists Category:Jewish American activists Category:Albany Law School alumni Category:University of Rochester alumni Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)