Judge Lets Cia Fire Doctor Who Pushed Mandatory Covid Vaccines For Military

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A federal judge has cleared the way for the CIA to fire a doctor criticized by some of President Donald Trump’s supporters for her role in the mandatory vaccination of military service members against coronavirus.

At a hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff declined Dr. Terry Adirim’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking the CIA from dismissing her as director of the spy agency’s Center for Global Health Services. The judge, a Biden appointee, also lifted an administrative stay he issued last week putting Adirim’s firing on hold.

Adirim had argued that her impending termination was the result of public attacks by some of Trump’s most vocal social media defenders, who had highlighted her role in the Biden-era Covid policy shortly before her termination. She pointed, in particular, to posts on X by Ivan Raiklin, who publicly characterized her as the “architect” of the Pentagon’s “Jab Genocide Mandate.”

Adirim’s suit alleges, citing “common sense” and evidence to be acquired through the litigation, that Raiklin asked prominent pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer to encourage Trump to have Adirim fired, and that Loomer relayed this to the president during an April meeting in the Oval Office. Raiklin, who attended the hearing, flatly denied to reporters that he urged Loomer to ask Trump to fire Adirim.

A lawyer for Adirim, Kevin Carroll, also argued that a post on X from Donald Trump Jr. welcoming Adirim’s firing amounted to the CIA publicly endorsing claims that she acted illegally or unethically.

The CIA, however, has sharply rejected any connection between the public campaign against Adirim and its decision to fire her. The agency indicated that it had received “multiple complaints by several different CIA officers” about Adirim’s conduct and that those complaints had caused concern among agency leadership.

“There is no reason other than the close timing of Ms. Loomer’s White House visit and the CIA’s communication of its termination decision to Plaintiff to suggest the two are linked,” the Justice Department argued in advance of the hearing.

Nachmanoff zeroed in Friday on the post by the president’s son, saying that it did not appear to amount to evidence that the CIA was defaming her. and could not justify a temporary restraining order keeping her in her job, Carroll said. However, according to the lawyer, the judge said he was not expressing any judgement about the underlying legal merits of Adirim’s suit.

Speaking to reporters following the hearing Friday, Raiklin said he did not communicate with Loomer in the months prior to Adirim’s firing.

Raiklin also said documents make clear that Adirim was involved in executing the Biden administration’s mandatory vaccination policy for members of the armed forces. He pointed to a Sept. 14, 2021, memo Adirim issued while serving as the acting principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs that instructed health providers to use Pfizer and Comirnaty vaccines to carry out the vaccination mandate.

Raiklin also noted that on Wednesday a senior Pentagon official issued a memo calling the 2021 mandate “unlawful as implemented.”

Raiklin rejected claims that he was tipped off to Adirim’s role at the CIA. He pointed to her LinkedIn post last year announcing that she was “starting a new position as Senior Executive at US Federal Government!” He said that language is often used by people referencing their work for the CIA.

A CIA spokesperson declined to comment.

Nachmanoff started the hearing before the scheduled time Friday, leading to several reporters arriving just as the court session ended.