Jeffrey Clark

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For other people with the same name, see Jeff Clark.

Jeffrey Clark
Jeffrey Bossert Clark official photo.jpg
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
Acting
September 5, 2020 – January 14, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byEthan Davis (acting)
Succeeded byBrian Boynton (acting)
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division
In office
November 1, 2018 – January 14, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn Cruden
Succeeded byTodd Kim[1]
Personal details
Born
Jeffrey Bossert Clark

(1967-04-17) April 17, 1967 (age 54)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationHarvard University (BA)
University of Delaware (MA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Jeffrey Bossert Clark (born April 17, 1967)[2] is an American lawyer who was Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division from 2018 to 2021. In September 2020 he was also appointed acting head of the Civil Division. In 2020 and 2021 he helped then-president Donald Trump attempt to subvert the 2020 presidential election. Clark's actions in that endeavor are being reviewed by the District of Columbia Bar Association for potential discipline.[3][4]

After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump refused to concede while making false claims of fraud, Clark worked on ways to cast doubt on the election results.[5][6] Trump tried unsuccessfully to install Clark as head of the Department of Justice when acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen refused to lend credence to Trump's false claims of fraud.[3][5] Clark resigned on January 14, 2021, after controversy over his actions following the election.[7]

After the end of the Trump administration, Clark was briefly named the Chief of Litigation and Director of Strategy at the conservative-libertarian New Civil Liberties Alliance.[8][9][10] On December 1, 2021, January 6 commission voted to recommend contempt of congress charges against Clark after he failed to handover documents and refused to answer questions.[11]

Early life and career[]

Clark was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Father Judge High School in Tacony, Pennsylvania.[12] He was on the parliamentary debate team at Harvard College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history in 1989. He received a Master of Arts in urban affairs and public policy from the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration at the University of Delaware in 1993, and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995.[2]

After graduating from law school, Clark clerked for Judge Danny J. Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.[13]

Clark joined Kirkland & Ellis as a lawyer during 1996–2001 and 2005–2018. During 2001–2005 he served in the George W. Bush administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department.[13] At Kirkland & Ellis, Clark represented the United States Chamber of Commerce in lawsuits challenging the federal government's authority to regulate carbon emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency's "endangerment finding".[14]

From 2012 to 2015, he was a member of the governing council of the American Bar Association's Administrative Law Section.[2] He is also a member of the Federalist Society.[15]

Assistant Attorney General[]

In June 2017, Clark was nominated by President Donald Trump to become the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.[16] He was confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018.[17] Within the division, Clark "developed a reputation for pushing aggressive conservative legal principles and taking a hands-on approach that drew kudos from some colleagues but often frustrated career lawyers on his team."[18]

Clark had opposed regulation of greenhouse gases.[19] In 2010, he had characterized US efforts to regulate greenhouse gases as "reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy."[20][21]

While Assistant Attorney General, Clark tried to delay the DOJ in seeking criminal and civil charges against North Dakota pipeline operator Summit Midstream Partners for its role in the largest-ever inland spill of waste water from oil drilling. Clark's attempts to delay the case led prosecutors under his supervision to go directly to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with the prosecutors arguing that Clark's rationale for delaying the case was inconsistent with "decades of case law." Ultimately, the DOJ proceeded with the case, which would become one of the largest water pollution cases in U.S. history. Summit Midstream Partners ultimately pleaded guilty and incurred $36.3 million in civil penalties.[22]

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division[]

In September 2020 he was also appointed acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Division with the support of Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.[23][15] Upon becoming the acting head of the civil division, Clark attempted unsuccessfully to include the government in lawsuits concerning defamation against President Trump by a plaintiff accusing Trump of rape, and against a former friend of First Lady Melania Trump.[15]

Attempts to overturn results of 2020 presidential election[]

Main article: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

In late December 2020 and early January 2021, Clark tried unsuccessfully to get the Justice Department to support Trump's attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.[23][24] After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Trump refused to concede and strove to overturn Biden's win, making false claims of election fraud. Clark became an ally of Trump in his attempt to overturn the election results. Clark was introduced to Trump by Republican congressman Scott Perry.[25][12] In late December 2020 Clark urged acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, his deputy Richard Donoghue, and other top Justice Department officials to have the Department announce it was investigating serious election fraud issues. They rejected the suggestion; Rosen and his predecessor William Barr had resisted pressure from Trump to interfere with or cast doubt on the election results.[26]

On December 28, 2020, Clark approached Rosen and Donoghue with a draft letter, which he reportedly had discussed with Perry, requesting they sign it. The letter was addressed to officials in the state of Georgia, saying that the Justice Department had evidence that raised "significant concerns" about the election results in multiple states, contradicting what Barr had publicly announced weeks earlier. The letter suggested the Georgia legislature should "call itself into special session for [t]he limited purpose of considering issues pertaining to the appointment of Presidential Electors". Both Rosen and Donoghue refused to sign the letter, and it was never sent.[27][28]

In early January 2021 Clark challenged an intelligence briefing top Justice Department officials had received from Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe finding there was no evidence foreign powers had interfered with voting machines. He claimed intelligence community analysts were withholding information, saying he had heard that "a Dominion machine accessed the Internet through a smart thermostat with a net connection trail leading back to China."[29]

Attempted appointment as Acting Attorney General[]

Also in January, Trump considered replacing Rosen with Clark, because he was disappointed that Rosen would not support Trump's claims of fraud, while Clark had worked on ways to cast doubt on, or even overturn, the election results.[5] Trump expected that if Clark became acting attorney general, he would reverse the decisions of previous attorneys general and publicly declare that DOJ had serious concerns about the election results. In particular he would open an investigation into supposed election fraud tainting the Georgia election, the results of which would compel Georgia officials to void Biden's win in that state.[23][24] When Clark told Rosen that Trump intended to appoint him to replace Rosen, the Department's remaining senior leaders – including Donoghue and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel Steven Engel – agreed they would all resign if Rosen was removed. After Rosen and Clark presented their arguments to Trump in a White House meeting, the president decided not to pursue the option.[23][24]

Clark denied that he had plotted to replace Rosen, who had mentored Clark when both worked at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, or that he recommended any action based on inaccurate material. He added that he could not discuss any conversations he had with Trump or with Justice Department lawyers because of legal privilege. Clark further noted that he had been the lead signatory on the Justice Department's letter opposing a claim that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to reject electoral votes for Biden when Congress met to certify the result.[23]

Clark's alleged cooperation with Trump to remove Rosen and to use the Justice Department's power to alter Georgia's election results was met with surprise by many of Clark's friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, who had previously viewed him as an "establishment lawyer" rather than a part of the "Trumpist faction of the party."[15]

On December 14, 2021, the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack released the contents of a text message dated Sunday, January 3 from an unknown person to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows which read: "I heard Jeff Clark is getting put in on Monday. That's amazing. It will make a lot of patriots happy and I'm personally so proud that you are at the tip of the spear and I can call you a friend."[30]

Resignation and investigation[]

Clark resigned from the Justice Department on January 14, 2021.[7] On January 25, 2021, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General, Michael E. Horowitz, launched "an investigation into whether any former or current DOJ official engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election."[31][32] In early August, Rosen and Donoghue told the inspector general and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that Clark helped Trump attempt to subvert the election.[33][34]

In October 2021, an ethics complaint against Clark, regarding his conduct when attempting to overturn the 2020 election, was filed with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.[35][36]

On October 7, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee released new testimony and a staff report.[37] They "reveal that we were only a half-step away from a full blown constitutional crisis as President Donald Trump and his loyalists threatened a wholesale takeover of the Department of Justice (DOJ). They also reveal how former Acting Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark became Trump’s Big Lie Lawyer, pressuring his colleagues in DOJ to force an overturn of the 2020 election."[38]

On October 13, 2021, the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol subpoenaed Clark for testimony and documents.[39] Clark refused to cooperate with the investigation, and at an appearance before the committee he refused to answer any substantive questions, asserting his right against self-incrimination. On December 1, 2021, the committee voted to recommend criminal charges of contempt of Congress against Clark.[40]

Later career[]

In August 2021 Clark was named the Chief of Litigation and Director of Strategy for the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA),[8] which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights organization whose goal is "to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State." The NCLA is mainly funded by the Charles Koch Foundation.[41][42] The organization's current focus is opposition to vaccine mandates and other Covid-19-related regulations and orders.[43] In October, after Clark received a congressional subpoena regarding his participation in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, his name disappeared from the NCLA site.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ "Senate confirms Todd Kim as assistant AG for environmental division". Axios. July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Jeffrey Bossert Clark". Justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. November 19, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Benner, Katie (October 6, 2021). "Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election - A Senate panel fleshed out how Donald Trump pursued his plan to install a loyalist as acting attorney general to pursue unfounded reports of fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (October 5, 2021). "The Legal Architects of Trump's Failed Coup May Finally Face Real Consequences". Slate. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Benner, Katie (January 23, 2021). "Trump and Justice Dept. Lawyer Said to Have Plotted to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  6. ^ Faulders, Katherine (August 3, 2021). "DOJ officials rejected colleague's request to intervene in Georgia's election certification: Emails". ABC News.
  7. ^ a b King, Pamela; Jacobs, Jeremy P. (January 26, 2021). "Law: Who is Jeffrey Bossert Clark?". Eenews.net. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Jeffrey Bossert Clark". New Civil Liberties Alliance. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (August 4, 2021). "The DOJ Official Who Tried to Steal the Election for Trump Has a Sweet New Gig". Slate Magazine.
  10. ^ a b "What Happened to Jeffrey Clark?". October 14, 2021.
  11. ^ Snodgrass, Sonam Sheth, Erin. "Jan. 6 panel votes to recommend criminal charges against top Trump DOJ official who refused to cooperate with Capitol riot probe". Business Insider. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Jonathan Tamari; Chris Brennan (January 25, 2021). "Pa. congressman Scott Perry acknowledges introducing Trump to lawyer at the center of election plot". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  13. ^ a b Schneier, Cogan (June 6, 2017). "Trump Announces Slate of Big Law Nominees for DOJ, Agency Posts". The National Law Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  14. ^ Lavelle, Marianne; Cushman, John H. (June 6, 2017). "Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney". InsideClimate News. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d Benner, Katie; Savage, Charlie (January 25, 2021). "Jeffrey Clark Was Considered Unassuming. Then He Plotted With Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". whitehouse.gov (Press release). June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017 – via National Archives.
  17. ^ Cama, Timothy (October 11, 2018). "Senate confirms climate skeptic to head DOJ environment office". The Hill. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  18. ^ Gilmer, Ellen M. (January 19, 2021). "Divisive Top Trump Environment Lawyer Reviews 'Challenging Job'". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  19. ^ "Clark is unfit to lead the Department of Justice's Environmental and Natural Resources Division" (Press release). Sierra Club. June 28, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  20. ^ EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job? (embedded video). Federalist Society. November 20, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  21. ^ Lavelle, Marianne (October 11, 2018). "Senate Confirms BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Government's Top Environment Attorney". InsideClimate News. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  22. ^ Lynch, Sarah N. (December 3, 2021). "Trump Justice ally Clark clashed with colleagues long before election drama". Reuters. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d e Benner, Katie (January 23, 2021). "Trump and Justice Dept. Lawyer Said to Have Plotted to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times.
  24. ^ a b c Zapotosky, Matt; Barrett, Devlin; Leonnig, Carol D. (January 23, 2021). "Trump entertained plan to install an attorney general who would help him pursue baseless election fraud claims". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  25. ^ Benner, Katie; Edmondson, Catie (January 24, 2021). "Pennsylvania Lawmaker Played Key Role in Trump's Plot to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  26. ^ Balsamo, Mike (December 1, 2020). "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud". AP NEWS.
  27. ^ Brown, Matthew (August 8, 2021). "Trump DOJ official Jeffrey Clark pushed acting AG to interfere in Georgia election: report". USA Today. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  28. ^ Benner, Katie; Edmondson, Catie (January 24, 2021). "Pennsylvania Lawmaker Played Key Role in Trump's Plot to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times.
  29. ^ Polantz, Katelyn; Cohen, Zachary; Perez, Evan (August 6, 2021). "How a Trump environmental lawyer tried to weaponize the Justice Department to help the President". CNN. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  30. ^ Jeremy Herb; Ryan Nobles (December 14, 2021). "'Need to end this call': January 6 committee reveals new text messages to Meadows on House floor". CNN.
  31. ^ Benner, Katie (January 25, 2021). "The Justice Dept.'s inspector general opens an investigation into any efforts to overturn the election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  32. ^ Schneider, Jessica; Cole, Devan (January 25, 2021). "Justice Department watchdog investigating possible attempt to overturn election results". CNN. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  33. ^ Brenner, Katie (August 7, 2021). "Former Acting Attorney General Testifies About Trump's Efforts to Subvert Election". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  34. ^ Perez, Evan (August 7, 2021). "Interviews with former Justice Department officials provide new details on Trump efforts to undermine election results". CNN.
  35. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (October 5, 2021). "The Legal Architects of Trump's Failed Coup May Finally Face Real Consequences". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  36. ^ Ayer, Donald; et al. (October 5, 2021). "Ethics complaint against Jeffrey Clark" (PDF). Letter to Hamilton P. Fox, Office of Disciplinary Counsel, District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
  37. ^ Subverting Justice: How the Former President and his Allies Pressured DOJ to Overturn the 2020 Election (PDF) (Majority Staff Report). U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. October 7, 2021. p. 394. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  38. ^ "Following 8 Month Investigation, Senate Judiciary Committee Releases Report on Donald Trump's Scheme to Pressure DOJ & Overturn the 2020 Election" (Press release). U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  39. ^ Annie Grayer, Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild. "January 6 committee subpoenas former DOJ official who pushed election fraud lie and interviews another who pushed back". CNN.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Sheth, Sonam; Snodgrass, Erin (December 1, 2021). "Jan. 6 panel votes to recommend criminal charges against top Trump DOJ official who refused to cooperate with Capitol riot probe". Business Insider. New York.
  41. ^ Cunningham, Maurice (June 8, 2020). "Koch behind the challenge to Baker's powers". CommonWealth.
  42. ^ "About". New Civil Liberties Alliance.
  43. ^ "NCLA". New Civil Liberties Alliance. Retrieved August 10, 2021.

External links[]

Legal offices
Preceded by
John C. Cruden
 United States Assistant Attorney General
for the Environment and Natural Resources Division
2018–2021 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""