The civil rights chief of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has confessed to lying to Congress about her arrest history during her confirmation hearing three years ago.
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ, admitted on May 1 that she had been arrested in 2006 in relation to a domestic violence complaint but chose not to disclose that information during her 2021 Senate confirmation process.
“Nearly 2 decades ago, I was subjected to years-long abuse and domestic violence at the hands of my ex-husband,” Ms. Clarke wrote in a statement to CNN.
“This was a terrorizing and traumatizing period that I have sought to put behind me to promote my personal health, healing and well-being. The physical and emotional scars, the emotional abuse and exploitation, and the lying are things that no woman or mother should ever have to endure.”
During her confirmation hearing, Ms. Clarke was asked by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in a questionnaire if she had “ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person.” She responded, “No.”
In her May 1 statement, Ms. Clarke said the arrest had since been purged from her record, asserting that she was not obligated to disclose it to Congress.
“When given the option to speak about such traumatic incidents in my life, I have chosen not to,” she said. “I didn’t believe during my confirmation process and I don’t believe now that I was obligated to share a fully expunged matter from my past.”
The White House typically directs the FBI to conduct a confidential background investigation before nominating an individual to a judicial or executive office. According to the findings of the nonpartisan government watchdog American Accountability Foundation, however, the FBI’s vetting effort didn’t appear to have covered the domestic violence calls that led to Ms. Clarke’s arrest.
Ms. Clarke’s ex-husband, Reginald Avery, alleged to the foundation in 2021 that Ms. Clarke “attacked him with a knife, deeply slicing his finger to the bone,” during a dispute on the night of July 4, 2006, while they were married and living in Maryland. Mr. Avery also claimed that he had never once been interviewed by the FBI.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called on Ms. Clarke to resign for lying under oath at her confirmation.
“Kristen Clarke is in charge of enforcing civil rights laws. She enforces those laws aggressively against anyone who sneezes near an abortion clinic,” he said. “And not at all against those who vandalize churches.”
Ms. Clarke has not directly addressed calls for her resignation, instead pledging to remain in her position and continue her work.
“As I have done at every stage of my career as a lifelong public servant, I will continue working to ensure that we carry out our work in a way that centers the experiences and needs of crime victims,” she said in her statement.
