A former top aide to ex-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has received the go-ahead from the Pentagon to release his memoir after a brief legal fight.
Lawyers for Guy Snodgrass, a former fighter pilot who served as Mattis’ speechwriter, claimed victory Wednesday, two weeks after filing a lawsuit alleging the Defense Department was slow-walking approval of the book.
“Complete legal victory. DoD had NO leg to stand on,” Mark Zaid said in a tweet.
Bradley Moss, another lawyer representing Snodgrass, said the book “has been cleared for release subject to minor redactions.”
The complaint filed by Snodgrass and his lawyers claimed the Pentagon was “unreasonably” delaying the publication of Holding the Line: Inside Trump’s Pentagon, which had been set for Oct. 29, to benefit Mattis, whose own book was released earlier this month.
They also accused the Pentagon of delaying the approval of the manuscript as “a retaliatory and punishing tactic, particularly with the consent and apparent approval of former SecDef Mattis.”
A spokesperson for the Pentagon did not immediately return a request for comment.
While Mattis’ book was critical of former President Barack Obama and his approach to national security, descriptions of Snodgrass’ book promise a “shocking” account of how Mattis led the military as he served “as a crucial check on the Trump Administration.”
