Former Pentagon chief Mark Esper drops lawsuit over memoir

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has dropped a lawsuit against the Defense Department. The ex-Pentagon chief had claimed that material was being improperly withheld from his use as he wrote a memoir about his tenure in the Trump administration. Esper’s lawyer, Mark S. Zaid, said in a statement on Friday that the Pentagon has reversed its stance on “the overwhelming majority” of material that officials had deemed classified. The book, “A Sacred Oath,” is set for publication in May. President Donald Trump fired Esper shortly after the 2020 election. The president then placed loyalists in leading Pentagon positions as he disputed election results.