Jeffrey Clark, the former Department of Justice (DOJ) official who was a central figure in former President Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, should face a two-year suspension, a disciplinary committee said Thursday.
Clark has been charged with attempted dishonesty and serious interference with the administration of justice related to the Georgia election results. He tried to send a letter to officials in Georgia after the election, urging the state to interfere with the results that showed Trump losing.
The committee wrote in a 213-page filing that Clark, an environmental lawyer, attempted dishonesty and did so “with truly extraordinary recklessness.”
“At the eleventh hour of the Trump Administration, he sought to take over responsibility for investigations into election matters, and relying on what was, at best, a fraction of the information any reasonable attorney would expect to act on,” the committee said.
Earlier this year, the Washington, D.C. Bar’s three-member board of responsibility panel found Clark likely violated at least one ethics rule in his efforts.
Clark’s “Proof of Concept” draft letter falsely claimed that the DOJ had found issues that may have impacted the election results in Georgia. Clark sent the letter to top-ranking DOJ officials, who refused to authorize the letter.
The committee said Thursday that even Trump told Clark no.
Clark, who took the stand at his defense during the disciplinary trial, was sincere when he believed sending the letter was the right thing to do, the committee said.
Still, the disciplinary committee argued that Clark’s “sincerity of belief does not make him less reckless.”
“We believe that a two-year suspension from the practice of law with a requirement to show fitness for readmission is an appropriate sanction for what was charged and proven,” they wrote.
The disciplinary counsel that brought forth the case against Clark sought more severe sanction, like disbarment. Clark and his team were looking for a way for him not to be disciplined.
If the committee’s two-year suspension recommendation is still in the early stages but it would be less severe than being disbarred completely, as other attorneys who worked with Trump in 2020 may face.
In a statement, Clark’s legal team said the committee’s ruling is “unlawful on many grounds.” They argue that it should be dismissed after the Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor in the immunity case last month.
“In fact, the recommendation is an outrageous power grab that began as a partisan political complaint by Senator Dick Durbin. This case never should have been brought; it violates the separation of powers,” said the statement, posted to the Center for Renewing America’s social media page on X.
The legal team said Clark is an excellent lawyer who has served his country honorably. Clark had a duty to give Trump his best advice, they said.
“The recommendation currently has no legal effect. We will pursue multiple appeals to keep it that way,” the statement said. “Mr. Clark should have been declared immune from the political weaponization of the Bar launched against him and we have confidence that Mr. Clark will be fully vindicated.”