In an op/ed for The New York Times, CERL Executive Board member Mark Zaid comments on the potential effects on government whistleblowers of Trump’s firing of nonpartisan inspectors general—many of whom he appointed during his first term—without giving Congress 30-days’ notice nor providing the requisite substantive rationale for their firing, in an effort to install loyalists, or, in the President’s words, “dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from Washington corruption.” 

Mark S. Zaid, Esq., is a Washington, D.C. based attorney who specializes in crisis management and innovatively handling simple and complex administrative and litigation matters primarily relating to national security, international law, foreign sovereign and diplomatic immunity, and the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts. He is a member of CERL’s Executive Board. Read his bio here. 

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.