A U.S. district judge has allowed the CIA to proceed with firing its top physician, who had previously sought a restraining order against the agency, Politico reported.
Last week, the CIA dismissed Dr. Terry Adirim, who had served in a top medical role in the Department of Defense and was known in conservative circles as being the "architect" of the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members.
In 2024, Adirim was recruited by the CIA to serve as director of the agency's Center for Global Health Services. Her hiring evoked the ire of Ivan Raiklin, a former Green Beret and conservative activist who had accused Adirim of "genocide and mass mutilation" during an appearance on Roseanne Barr's podcast.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff denied Adirim's motion for a temporary retraining order, which she sought citing irreparable harm. Her attorney, Kevin Carroll, had attempted to prove through discovery that Raiklin had urged another pro-Trump activist, Laura Loomer, to persuade the Trump administration to fire Adirim during an April meeting at the White House.
The CIA rejected Adirim's claims prior to the hearing saying, "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 CIA said there was no connection between the public statements of conservative pundits and Adirim's firing, 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.
Raiklin told reporters on Friday that he had no communication with Loomer in the months before Adirim's dismissal.