President Donald Trump told former Justice Department (DOJ) official Jeffrey Clark to honor his executive privilege in his upcoming disciplinary proceeding.
“In light of these circumstances and the pending D.C. Bar disciplinary proceeding against you, which is set to begin before Hearing Committee #12 on March 26, 2024,” Mr. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche wrote in a letter on Jan. 12. “We hereby instruct you to maintain President Trump’s executive privilege and other related privileges, including law enforcement privilege, attorney client privilege, and deliberative process privilege.”
The letter reaffirmed President Trump’s stance on this issue, which was made clear in an Aug. 2, 2021, letter by Mr. Trump’s attorney Douglas Collins to Jeffery Clark.
The former president is willing to “intervene in any litigation involving these privileges,” Mr. Blanche said.
Mr. Trump’s move is regarded as likely a step to block testimony in the disciplinary proceeding of Mr. Clark, one of his few allies from the DOJ after the 2020 presidential election.
Clark Disciplinary Proceeding
The DOJ conducted some criminal investigations into allegations of election fraud and irregularities after the 2020 election but didn’t make any progress. Richard Donoghue, then-principal associate deputy attorney general in the office of deputy attorney general, was on top of those investigations.
William Barr, the attorney general at that time, announced twice in December 2020 that no evidence had been found to support the election fraud allegations.
Mr. Barr resigned on Dec. 23, 2020, and was replaced by Jeffrey Rosen as the acting Attorney general.
Mr. Donoghue was promoted to deputy Attorney General after Mr. Barr’s resignation.
Mr. Clark, who acted as the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division in DOJ, drafted a “Proof of Concept” letter on Dec. 28, 2020, urging Georgia governor, speaker of the state House, and president pro tempore of the state Senate to investigate the election fraud in the Peach State, especially in Fulton County.
The letter was never sent out because of objections from Mr. Donoghue and Mr. Rosen.
Both said the letter contained false information.
Lawyer: Within the Scope of Official Duties
Mr. Clark was investigated and charged in the Georgia election case because of the event connected to the “Proof of Concept” letter.During a hearing on the motion of moving Mr. Clark’s case to the federal court in September 2023, his attorney Harry MacDougald argued that Mr. Clark was acting within the scope of his official duties and the event shows different opinions among attorneys in the DOJ with regard to the election integrity in 2020 presidential election.
The letter never left the office and Mr. Clark was not going rogue when he drafted the letter because it was part of Mr. Clark’s job, Mr. MacDougald argued.
He contended that Mr. Clark’s case must be handled by a federal judge, not a state judge from Georgia.
It is not within the authority of a state prosecutor to peer into confidential deliberations at the Justice Department or the White House and “pick a winner and a loser and indict the loser,” he told the judge.
He dismissed the notion that federal authorities have no role in state elections, pointing out that the Department of Justice was already looking into election fraud allegations before Clark got involved.
“The Rubicon had already been crossed,” Mr. MacDougald said.
The motion was later denied by the federal judge.
