Administration claimed Kendall disclosed sensitive information on Qatari-gifted jet
Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday he will sue the Trump administration to restore his security clearance. The administration revoked the clearance Friday after claiming Kendall had disclosed sensitive information about the Qatari-gifted jet now serving as Air Force One.
Kendall, a West Point graduate who served as President Joe Biden’s head of the Air Force, announced the planned lawsuit in an appearance on CNN. He said the administration has a history of retaliating against critics by stripping their security clearances.
“As my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies,” Kendall said. Kendall has denied disclosing classified information.
Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. “More to come,” Zaid wrote.
The lawsuit Kendall announced Monday seeks to force the administration to restore his security clearance. He has denied the disclosure claim at the center of the revocation.
Zaid’s own case followed the same course: the Trump administration revoked his clearance, and he sued. Kendall has now hired Zaid, an attorney who has already taken the administration to court over a clearance revocation.