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After a week of testimony, a DC Bar ethics committee probing former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark issued a preliminary recommendation that Clark broke ethic rules with his post-election shenanigans. The ruling is non-binding, but serves as another stepping stone in the DC Disciplinary Counsel’s effort to get Clark disbarred.
Clark, who was either Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and then-Acting head of the Civil Division or ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL — depending on whether you ask the org chart or the voices in his head — spent the waning days of the Trump administration claiming that the Department of Justice could send letters to state legislatures claiming that the DOJ had found evidence of widespread election fraud (they hadn’t) and suggesting that states therefore had legal justification to disregard the results at the ballot box when choosing electors (they didn’t).
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This is the fight you probably recall infamously ending in the Oval Office with former Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue telling 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.”
As it turns out, the rest of the Trump administration’s lawyers had the better of the argument according to the DC Bar, which rejected Clark’s claim that he genuinely believed that there was voter fraud and that this was ethically sufficient to cover his actions.
The ruling isn’t specific on which rules Clark breached, but the case involved claims that he “attempted to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, by sending the Proof of Concept letter containing false statements” and “attempted to engage in conduct that would seriously interfere with the administration of justice.” So one or the other or both.
It’s a weird result since it looked like things were going so well for him earlier in the day…
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From the Jeffrey Clark disbarment hearing: "If a federal lawyer stabs a nun on the bus, and that's never happened before, you're contending that the lawyer can't be disciplined because it's never happened before?"
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 4, 2024
Well, hey, today’s opinion is non-binding so it’s not over yet! Spin the wheel and take your chances, Jeff! You’re doing great so far!
Earlier: Trump Coup Lawyers Clark And Eastman Going Through Some Things With State Bars
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.