Two months after purportedly reaching a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), South Carolina congressional candidate Katie Arrington has filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon.
According to Arrington’s attorney, Mark Zaid, the lawsuit seeks to compel DOD, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and unnamed “others” to release records “pertaining to highly questionable actions to revoke her security clearance.”
In other words, it is Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit …
According to Arrington’s campaign, the documents sought from the government will “undoubtedly prove the accusations leveled by RINOs and the Deep State are false.”
News of the action was first reported by John Hewitt Jones for FedScoop.
Later in his statement, Zaid claimed Arrington’s security clearance had never been revoked – as has been asserted by her opponent Nancy Mace.
“I’ve never had my top secret security clearance revoked like my opponent,” Mace said during a candidate forum earlier this month.
According to Zaid, Arrington “absolutely did NOT have her security clearance revoked” and “absolutely did NOT leak classified information.”
“Anyone who claims otherwise is either misinformed, ignorant or intentionally lying,” he added.
DOD officials accused Arrington of disclosing classified information which “damaged national security,” according to SC Magazine technology reporter Derek Johnson.
Arrington has steadfastly denied these allegations, which have become a centerpiece of the battle between her and Mace – which itself is a proxy war between former U.S. president Donald Trump (and his “America First” legions) and establishment “Republicans” like former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
Trump and the MAGA faithful are backing Arrington, while Haley is supporting Mace.
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Arrington enjoyed a decorated career at DOD prior to the allegations. Before her work at the agency, she spent two years in the S.C. House of Representatives representing Berkeley County. In 2018, Arrington vanquished incumbent first district U.S. congressman Mark Sanford in a GOP primary for the first congressional district – the former South Carolina governor’s first-ever electoral defeat.
After being sidelined for months following a horrific car crash in June of 2018, Arrington was narrowly defeated by lobbyist/ “ocean engineer” Joe Cunningham in the November general election.
Her defeat swung this coastal Lowcountry district “blue” for the first time in nearly forty years, although Mace recaptured the seat for “Republicans” in the November 2020 wave election.
The winner of the GOP primary will square off this fall against Annie Andrews – a pediatrician from Mount Pleasant, S.C. Andrews was the only Democrat to file for this seat, which was redrawn to the benefit of “Republican” candidates last December.
To say the battle between Mace and Arrington has been contentious is putting it mildly … this race has literally been off the chain, people.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. Oh, he also has LOTS of hats … but has given them up for Lent this year.
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BANNER VIA: U.S. Department of Defense