Former White House national security official Olivia Troye, who spoke against President-elect Donald Trump‘s nomination of Kash Patel for FBI Director, received a letter from Patel’s lawyers threatening a defamation lawsuit and demanding a retraction.
Troye’s attorney, Mark Zaid, shared his response to the letter which includes a photo of a man in armor sticking out his tongue and with his thumbs in his ears from the comedy sketch show Monty Python.
My response for my client @OliviaTroye to President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (#FBI) #KashPatel‘s threat of a forthcoming defamation lawsuit.#RightBackAtYa pic.twitter.com/evVdlnJJFB
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) December 6, 2024
Zaid wrote: “…to answer your specific question as to Ms. Troye’s intentions as to a retraction, I think Monty Python expresses it best:” Zaid signed the letter: “With best wishes, I remain, Sincerely.”
Note: Also in the brief letter, Zaid quoted an Italian proverb — a “lawsuit is a fruit-tree planted in a lawyer’s garden” — and added, “I can only imagine the number of apples and oranges in your backyard.” (Zaid cites H.L. Mencken’s 1946 ‘A New Dictionary of Quotations’ as a source for the proverb.)
When he shared a photo of the letter on X, Zaid added the hashtag #RightBackAtYa.
Never Trumper conservative political commentator Charlie Sykes replied to Zaid’s letter: “One of the great moments in legal history,” and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) replied, “Amazing!” Both Republicans endorsed and voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
At least I still have my law license and haven’t been indicted.
So, yes, pretty clever. https://t.co/kBW1nySRR9 pic.twitter.com/vPGLdfE0Ce
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) December 7, 2024
Former United States Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark (who allegedly helped Trump try to overturn the 2020 presidential election) replied to Zaid: “Mark Zaid thinks he’s being oh so clever by putting a Monty Python picture in his letter responding to a demanded retraction by Jesse Binnall, lawyer for Kash Pate, of statements made against Kash by Olivia Troye.”
Zaid replied: “At least I still have my law license and haven’t been indicted. So, yes, pretty clever.”
