Clark's Election Scheming Could Lead to Disbarment

Jeffrey Clark's law license is at risk after a District of Columbia panel decided Thursday that his efforts to keep Donald Trump in office violated at least one attorney ethics rule. Clark pressured other high-ranking officials in the Justice Department after the 2020 election to prevent the transfer of power to Joe Biden, Politico reports. Clark can ask for a lighter punishment, such as a reprimand, but the investigators who brought the charges said they'll push for his disbarment. The ruling by the three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility is preliminary but could still represent the first step toward Clark's suspension or disbarment.

A lawyer for Clark said that he didn't break any ethics rule and that there was an internal dispute in the Justice Department about the election results, per Reuters. Clark suggested in December 2020 that the department send a letter to Georgia's governor and top state lawmakers falsely claiming it had "identified significant concerns" that may have affected election results in Georgia and other states, the DC Office of Disciplinary Counsel said. Clark's former bosses in the department, Jeff Rosen and Richard Donoghue, testified to the scheme before the panel.

Clark did not testify, per Politico, invoking his Fifth Amendment right. The two charges he was up on in DC were attempting to engage in dishonest conduct and attempting to interfere with the administration of justice. The panel did not say which charge it decided Clark violated. The full board and a Washington appeals court would have to approve any discipline for Clark before it takes effect. He's also been criminally charged in Georgia, as has Trump, involving efforts to overturn the election. (More Election 2020 stories.)