Former Trump aide Jeffrey Clark hit with ethics charge by DC Bar Association
Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who would be on Donald Trump's shortlist to become attorney general in a potential second presidency, has been hit with ethics charges by the District of Columbia Bar Association.
The association's office of disciplinary action found Clark made false statements about Georgia's election results in a draft letter he wanted acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue to send to state officials as party of a scheme to overturn Trump's election loss, reported Reuters.
Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told the January 6 committee in a videotaped deposition that he had informed Clark that his plan would amount to "committing a felony."
Clark was charged with attempting to engage in dishonesty by making false statements and engaging in conduct that would "seriously interfere with the administration of justice," according to reporter Sarah N. Lynch.
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Both Rosen and Donoghue, who had threatened to resign if Trump installed Clark at the top of the Department of Justice in January 2021, testified before the D.C. Bar Association months ago, and they also testified before the House select committee last month.
"I made the point that Jeff Clark is not even competent to serve as the attorney general. He's never been a criminal attorney. He's never conducted a criminal investigation in his life," Donoghue recalled telling Trump in testimony before the January 6 committee.
Donoghue said he told Clark: "You're an environmental lawyer. How about you go back to your office, and we'll call you when there's an oil spill?"
He also recalled warning Clark that his mission to push Trump's election fraud claims was "nothing less than the United States Justice Department meddling in the outcome of a presidential election."
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Clark didn't appear before the committee and asserted his Fifth Amendment right to avoid incriminating himself more than 100 times during his deposition.
The D.C. Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel also recently filed ethics charges against former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, whose first hearing on that case will be held Aug. 4.
The nonprofit legal activism group 65 Project has asked the office of disciplinary action to investigate former Justice Department official Kenneth Klukowski and filed a similar complaint in New York against Trump campaign attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who were each implicated in the scheme to halt certification of Joe Biden's election win on Jan. 6, 2021.
With additional reporting by AFP
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