By Luis de Jesus
A judge rejected an attempt by former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to move his case involving interference in the election results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia to federal court. He will remain in state court.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones noted that the former official failed to justify the removal of the indictment by Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, so he returned the case to the county’s Superior Court, he reported. CBS News.
Last month, charges were filed against Clark and 18 others, including former US President Donald Trump.
The indictment notes that the former official wrote a letter after the election in which he said that the Justice Department allegedly identified “significant concerns” that could impact the outcome of the elections in several US states, including Georgia.
He thus asked senior department officials to sign it and send it to Governor Brian Kemp and state legislative leaders. The prosecution also says that Clark knew the statement was false, the news agency reported. The Associated Press.
At the time, he held the position of deputy attorney general overseeing the Environment and Natural Resources Division and was the acting deputy attorney general of the Civil Division.
Jones noted that Clark did not provide evidence to show that he acted within his duties at the Justice Department when he wrote the letter in December 2020.
“The evidence before the Court indicates otherwise: Clark’s role in the Civil Division did not include any role in investigating or supervising state elections,” the judge said.
Clark pleaded not guilty on September 1 to the charges against him.
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