A disciplinary panel in Washington has found that Jeffrey Clark, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, violated ethics rules for lawyers in his attempt to aid Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.
The three-member disciplinary committee determined Thursday that Clark’s campaign to pressure Justice Department leaders to help upend the transfer of power to Joe Biden violated his duties as an attorney.
The preliminary ruling jumpstarts a process that could lead to the suspension or even permanent revocation of Clark’s license to practice law, even as he’s considered a candidate for a senior position in a second Trump administration.Disciplinary investigators who brought the charges against Clark say they intend to advocate for his disbarment.
The decision followed six days of testimony, including by Clark’s former Justice Department superiors: Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue, who described a failed effort by Clark to use the department to falsely claim the election results were in doubt. Former Deputy White House Counsel Pat Philbin also testified publicly for the first time about Clark’s gambit….
Clark has one more opportunity to convince the three-member panel to reverse its decision, which the panel’s chair Merril Hirsh repeatedly emphasized was a “preliminary” and “nonbinding” determination. Both he and disciplinary investigators will file briefs and seek to persuade the panel to rule in their favor in a subsequent decision that is likely several months away.