Jeffrey Clark

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

Jeffrey Clark
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 57)
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, Clark allegedly helped then-president Donald Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Clark's actions in that endeavor were reviewed by the District of Columbia Bar – the entity authorized by law to pursue attorney discipline and disbarment in the District of Columbia – which recommended discipline to the DC Court of Appeals in July 2022,[3][4][5] and in August 2024 its Board on Professional Responsibility recommended a two year suspension of his law license.[6] He was identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal prosecution of Donald Trump over attempts to overturn the 2020 election.[7] On August 14, 2023, he was indicted along with 18 other people in the prosecution related to the 2020 election in Georgia.[8]

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.[9][10] Trump considered installing 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,[4][9] but backed off when faced with the prospect of mass resignations within the Department of Justice if he made the change.[11] Clark resigned from the Department of Justice on January 14, 2021, after controversy over his post-election actions.[12]

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.[13][14][15] On December 1, 2021, the House committee on the January 6 attack voted to recommend contempt of Congress charges against Clark after he refused to comply with a subpoena.[16]

As of June 2022 Clark was working as a Senior Fellow and Director of Litigation at the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank founded by his friend Russell Vought, former director of the Office of Management and Budget.[17]

  1. ^ "Senate confirms Todd Kim as assistant AG for environmental division". Axios. July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  2. ^ "Jeffrey Bossert Clark". Justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. November 19, 2018. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020.
  3. ^ Polantz, Katelyn (July 22, 2022). "DC lawyers disciplinary board says ex-DOJ official Jeffrey Clark lied in his attempts to overturn 2020 election". CNN. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  4. ^ 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. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (October 5, 2021). "The Legal Architects of Trump's Failed Coup May Finally Face Real Consequences". Slate. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Skolnik, Sam (August 1, 2024). "Jeffrey Clark Should Get 2-Year Suspension, DC Ethics Board Says". bloomberglaw. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Cohen, Marshall (August 1, 2023). "Who are the Trump co-conspirators in the 2020 election interference indictment?". CNN. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Cole, Devan; Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason; Cohen, Marshall (August 14, 2023). "Here are the names and titles of all 19 people charged in Georgia case". CNN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  9. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Faulders, Katherine (August 3, 2021). "DOJ officials rejected colleague's request to intervene in Georgia's election certification: Emails". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Ben (June 23, 2022). "America is about to meet the one DOJ official willing to do Trump's coup". Vox. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  12. ^ King, Pamela; Jacobs, Jeremy P. (January 26, 2021). "Law: Who is Jeffrey Bossert Clark?". Eenews.net. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Jeffrey Bossert Clark". New Civil Liberties Alliance. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (August 4, 2021). "The DOJ Official Who Tried to Steal the Election for Trump Has a Sweet New Gig". Slate. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "What Happened to Jeffrey Clark?". October 14, 2021.
  16. ^ 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. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  17. ^ Hsu, Spencer S.; Barrett, Devlin; Dawsey, Josh (June 23, 2022). "Federal agents searched home of Trump Justice Dept. official Jeffrey Clark". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.