former-doj-official-could-be-disbarred-for-collaborating-with-trump-in-effort-to-overturn-2020-electionFormer DOJ Official Could Be Disbarred for Collaborating with Trump in Effort to Overturn 2020 Election

Jeffrey Clark, a former top Department of Justice (DOJ) official, made false claims while trying to implicate the agency in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, a Washington ethics lawyer reported.

Clark faces a disciplinary hearing that could result in him losing his license to practice law. The New York mogul tried to put Clark in charge of the DOJ in the final days of his administration, as the jurist sought to repeat the former president’s false claims of widespread electoral fraud.

“What Mr. Clark was trying to do was essentially a coup d’état on the Department of Justice,” Hamilton “Phil” Fox, a disciplinary attorney for the District of Columbia Bar, explained in his opening argument.

Likewise, Clark’s lawyer, Harry MacDougald, denied that his client violated the ethical rules for lawyers, saying that he was involved in an “internal debate and disagreement” within the department about the impact of electoral fraud on the 2020 presidential election.

“Mr. Clark should not be here to give his honest opinion and independent judgment,” MacDougald said.

Clark, who served as acting head of the DOJ’s civil division under Trump, faces a multi-day hearing on ethics charges that accuse him of trying to take actions “that involve dishonesty” and that would “seriously interfere with the administration.” of Justice”.

The defendant attempted to send a letter to Georgia officials in December 2020 falsely claiming that the DOJ had “identified significant concerns” that could have led to the former Republican president’s defeat in that state, according to ethics charges filed in 2022.

The hearing is being handled by a three-member committee of the Board of Professional Responsibility, a branch of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Reuters reported.

If it is determined that Clark did indeed violate ethics rules, it could be recommended that his law license be suspended or revoked. The full board would accept the suggestion, and final action would be up to the appeals court.

For its part, the DC Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which is investigating the lawyers for violating legal ethics rules, filed the case against Clark.

The lawyer is one of Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia case, in which he faces criminal charges, although he has pleaded not guilty. Clark is listed as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the federal case.

Senior DOJ officials found no evidence of widespread voter fraud and declined to send Clark’s proposed letter. Trump stepped back from his plan to name Clark acting attorney general after department leaders and top White House lawyers threatened to resign in protest.

Two of Clark’s top DOJ officials, former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, have assisted with the ethics inquiries and are expected to testify at the hearing.

Additionally, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, a known Trump ally, and the former president’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, could testify on Clark’s behalf, his defense said.

Keep reading:

  • Election interference in Georgia: judge denied former Justice Department official’s attempt to move his case
  • Seven allies of Donald Trump in Georgia also surrendered to Fulton County justice
  • What are the four federal charges Trump faces for trying to overturn the 2020 election?

By Scribe