When Olivia Troye received Patel’s threat earlier this week she turned to her counsel Mark Zaid, as she had when Richard Grenell baselessly sued her for defamation in 2022. Zaid, frequently described as a “DC Superlawyer” dispatched with that nonsense quickly, and it’s likely he’ll do the same with Patel. At least that’s the impression, given his contemptuous response to Patel’s threat of legal action.
Source: The New Republic
Donald Trump’s choice to run the FBI, Kash Patel, is already demonstrating how he’d use the country’s top law enforcement agency to crack down on his critics.
Jesse Binall, Patel’s attorney, sent a letter Wednesday to former Trump White House staffer Olivia Troye, threatening legal action against her for her criticism of Patel on MSNBC Monday. The letter accused Troye of fabricating her criticisms of Patel previously lying about intelligence matters and putting U.S. service members at risk.
Troye and Patel worked in the White House during Trump’s first term as president, and Binall’s letter threatens litigation against Troye unless she retracts her criticisms of Patel, which include calling him a “delusional liar.”
Troye responded to receiving the threat this way, saying she stood by her comments.
A few days later her lawyer Mark Zaid responded to the threat of a defamation suit in possibly the most dismissive way possible, referencing Monty Python.
