SC’s Katie Arrington sues Pentagon, NSA seeking answers over her 5-month suspension
In the last five months, while on paid administrative leave from her job at the Pentagon over accusations that she leaked classified information, South Carolina Republican Katie Arrington has renovated a bathroom, vacationed at Trump National Doral resort in Miami and sipped on a three-olive martini at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Now, after months of waiting, she’s looking for answers and wants a judge to intervene.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Department of Defense and the National Security Administration, the former South Carolina state lawmaker seeks a speedy resolution to her languishing personnel case, claiming that the ongoing investigation is rooted in “baseless” accusations and political motivations.
And Arrington also wants a “name-clearing hearing,” after further alleging in the lawsuit that “unknown individuals within DoD have improperly, and possibly illegally, leaked privacy protected information” about her to “unauthorized third parties for the purpose of further causing harm.”
The complaint, filed on Arrington’s behalf by attorney Mark Zaid in U.S. District Court in Washington, accused Pentagon officials of failing to take “any significant substantive steps to move their investigation forward, much less give (Arrington) an opportunity to respond to any allegations.”
It’s been five months since Arrington was notified on May 11 that her security clearance to classified information was being suspended. The suit said Arrington was told the action was taken “as a result of a reported Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified Information and subsequent removal of access” by the National Security Agency.
Arrington “has been deprived of procedural and substantive due process,” according to the lawsuit.
The six-page complaint, which was first obtained by Bloomberg News, further states that the allegations that Arrington leaked classified information are “baseless or exaggerated” and, ultimately, were a “pretext” to push Arrington out of her post at the Pentagon.
In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Arrington’s attorney called what has happened to his client an “absolute travesty,” saying that no details about the allegations have ever been provided.
“It appears this is intentional effort to get her to resign,” Zaid wrote in the tweet.
Before being placed on administrative leave, Arrington was the chief information security officer for the Pentagon’s Acquisition and Sustainment Office.
In that role, one of her most ambitious initiatives at the Department of Defense was spearheading a cybersecurity initiative for defense contractors, known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.
In the complaint, Zaid writes that this was an operation the National Security Administration “did not support.” The suit goes on, saying that “certain high-ranking DoD officials” also did not want Arrington serving in a senior position within the Biden administration “due to her close previous ties with President Trump.”
“They are using the NSA’s decision as a pretext to remove her,” the complaint said.
While running for Congress in 2018, Arrington made her allegiance to President Donald Trump the centerpiece of her campaign in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
She earned the Trump’s vocal endorsement on the day of her Republican primary, in a late afternoon tweet and a quickly produced robocall that went out to GOP voters hours before polls closed on a rainy election day.
It was enough for Arrington to triumph over U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in a stunning victory that handed the former South Carolina governor his first-ever electoral defeat and landed Arrington’s win on the front page of the New York Times.
At a rally in Columbia, Trump thanked Arrington by name. She later met with Trump in the White House.
Arrington ultimately lost her congressional bid to Democrat Joe Cunningham in the midterm elections. Months after her election loss, Arrington was appointed to a job with the Department of Defense as a “highly qualified expert” in January 2019.
She later competed for and attained the nonpartisan senior executive service status, Bloomberg reported.
“It is rare that an individual holding a Senior Executive Service position such as held by the Plaintiff would be left dangling in this way,” the complaint said.
“Generally, these types of investigations would be expedited for senior officials,” the lawsuit continued. “Upon information and belief, the Defendants are purposefully delaying or failing to take action in this matter in order to compel the Plaintiff to resign.”
During her 2018 congressional campaign, Arrington frequently touted her cybersecurity expertise and highlighted her background working in the defense industry.
She was previously the vice president of sales at Dispersive Technologies, a cybersecurity solutions provider, and worked as an account manager at Benefitfocus. She also previously worked as a director of technology at a firm called Centuria.
Arrington served one term in the S.C. State House, where she represented parts of Charleston and Dorchester counties from 2017-2018. She continues to reside in the Palmetto State.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 8:15 AM.
