A very public spat
Former Conservative MP turned investigative journalist Louise Mensch appears to have dropped her pro bono lawyer in an extraordinary Twitter row.
High-profile attorney Mark S. Zaid had been representing Mensch in a freedom of information lawsuit. The pair wanted details of government investigations into Russian interference in the US presidential election, according to Washington insiders’ bible The Hill.
Last night Zaid got into what seemed like a routine Twitter disagreement (embedded below) with Evan McMullin, who came to prominence in 2016 when he ran as an independent candidate against Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Linking to a New York Times article about fake Russian Facebook accounts, McMullin tweeted:
"Some of the ads linked to Russian accounts had targeted particular geographic areas…" We can guess which ones. https://t.co/PjctetNJbT
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) September 6, 2017
Zaid hit back:
Of course, USGOVT undertakes similar actions overseas. At least #Russians financially contributed to our economy! https://t.co/eRPv6HZIG0
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 6, 2017
Prompting this reply from McMullin:
This is a Kremlin talking point. The U.S. doesn't undermine liberal democracies overseas. Any examples otherwise would be from the Cold War. https://t.co/SDyLk1caG0
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) September 6, 2017
Responding, the experienced lawyer branded the former presidential candidate “pathetic”:
Pretty pathetic Evan that you have to respond by asserting I'm offering Kremlin talking points. I'm not one of your political flunkies.
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 7, 2017
So far, so Twitter, you might think. But it looks like Mensch has taken exception to her lawyer’s debating style:
You're fired. Thank you and Brad Moss for your past representation, pro bono and in a good cause, but @Evan_McMullin is not "pathetic".
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) September 7, 2017
And Washington-based Zaid seemed happy to be shot of his outspoken client.
Thank you Louise! Notice of withdrawal will be filed with court tonight. You're on your own. @BradMossEsq
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 7, 2017
Following the spat, Zaid quickly filed a notice with the US District Court of the District of Columbia removing Mensch as his client. According to US website The Daily Caller, it said:
The undersigned counsel hereby notifies this Court that Plaintiff Louise Mensch has terminated their legal representation effective immediately.
This isn’t first time Zaid and Mensch have clashed over Twitter. Earlier this year, Zaid publicly questioned a Mensch story claiming that a “sealed indictment” has been granted against President of the United States Donald Trump.
Mensch, who quit as MP for Corby to move Stateside in 2012, has been accused by the Guardian of endorsing “fake details of criminal inquiries into Trump”, but has hit back in a blog post defending her coverage as based on independent sources.
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