Trump ally Jeffrey Clark disciplinary hearing begins over role trying to overturn 2020 election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark’s efforts to help then-President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election were characterized Tuesday as a coup attempt by Washington, D.C., Office of Disciplinary Counsel at a hearing to determine if Clark should be sanctioned.

Clark is accused of attempting to engage in dishonest conduct during his role in aftermath of the last presidential election.

Much of the hearing before the three-member Board of Responsibility focused on a letter which Clark sent to his superiors at the time, Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donoghue. Clark suggested the letter be sent to Georgia indicating that the Justice Department was investigating irregularities in the state’s election and state lawmakers should void Biden’s electoral win.

Hamilton Fox III, the disciplinary counsel at the hearing, said the letter and Clark’s continued attempts to intercede on Trump’s behalf, including multiple meetings with Trump in violation Justice Department procedure, were “essentially a coup attempt at the Department of Justice.”

Clark’s attorney, Harry MacDougald, said the action being taken against his client was unprecedented. He said the letter was not supposed to have been public and should have fallen under various privilege protections. He added that the letter was part of the debate that normally occurs between lawyers. He said punishing Clark in those circumstances would have a “chilling effect,” a point that Donoghue agreed with during the cross examination portion of his testimony when he said it could discourage people from “being as candid as they otherwise might be.”

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