About
Jeffrey Clark, an attorney and a member of the conservative Federalist Society, worked as an assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice before being appointed acting chief of its Civil Division in September 2020. In that role, he became deeply involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the presidential election results.
Before joining the Trump administration, Clark defended BP after its 2010 environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and in representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he challenged the science behind national environmental regulations.
After leaving the DOJ with Trump’s departure from Washington, Clark worked at the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative-libertarian law firm dedicated to fighting “the administrative state,” for a short period of time. In October 2021, a bipartisan group of lawyers filed an ethics complaint against him with the D.C. Court of Appeals for his role in attempting to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
January 6, 2021
- The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol recommended contempt of Congress charges against Clark when he refused to answer their questions or deliver documents. “It’s astounding that someone who so recently held a position of public trust to uphold the Constitution would now hide behind vague claims of privilege by a former President, refuse to answer questions about an attack on our democracy, and continue an assault on the rule of law,” noted Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (R-Miss.).
The Big Lie
- Emails reveal that Clark circulated a draft letter to his colleagues at the Department of Justice calling on Georgia’s state legislature to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
- Clark attempted to convince higher-ups in the DOJ to pressure certain local legislatures to overturn the outcome of the presidential election in their states.
- Clark coordinated with Rep. Scott Perry (R-Penn.) to try to convince Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to overturn the election results.
- Clark reportedly coordinated with Trump to remove then-acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen from office when he refused to pressure officials in Georgia to alter the results of the presidential election.