Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark may be disbarred for violating ethical guidelines by supporting former President Donald Trump’s plan to disrupt the 2020 election, according to a Washington, D.C., discipline panel.
Clark was the acting assistant head of the Justice Department’s civil division during the Trump administration, and he supported his former boss’ baseless assertions that the 2020 general election was stolen.
Trump considered replacing then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Clark, who would carry out his plan, as part of his efforts to undermine the election, but ultimately declined to name him head of the department after receiving advice that doing so would lead to widespread resignations.
The three-member lawyer disciplinary committee in Washington, D.C., is reviewing charges filed against Clark by the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel in July 2022, accusing the former federal lawyer of dishonest behavior and attempting to obstruct the administration of justice.
Following a trial in which Clark declined to testify, the three-member panel delivered a preliminary verdict on Thursday, stating that Clark violated at least one attorney ethics rule but did not elaborate.
The decision opens Clark to disciplinary action, including disbarment.
“The board’s preliminary finding today is another step toward holding Clark accountable for undermining democracy and the rule of law when he worked to help Trump overturn a free and fair election,” said a statement from the non-profit United Democracy Center, which works to protect democracy.
According to the indictment complaint, Clark attempted to interfere with the election vote count in Georgia, which Trump lost by 11,779 votes.
According to the email, Clark drafted a letter to Georgia officials in late December 2020, indicating that the Justice Department had “significant concerns” about the state’s election, despite the fact that the federal department was unaware of any difficulties with the contest.
The letter urged that Georgia’s governor convene a special session of the state legislature to explore replacing Biden supporters with Trump supporters.
Rosen and the deputy attorney general, Richard Donoghue, refused to sign the letter because it contained misleading assertions. When it became clear that Trump intended to appoint Clark as attorney general, Donoghue advised the then-outgoing president that if he did, all assistant attorneys general would resign, as would the White House counsel.
Trump chose not to appoint Clark as attorney general and never forwarded the letter to Georgia.
Along with Trump and 17 other defendants, Clark is also facing separate trials in a criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia, and a federal election case against the former president.
In July, a similar panel recommended disbarring former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani for his attempts to assist the former president in overturning the election.
