The Washington, DC bar advanced its lawfare on Trump-era Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark Thursday when one of its committees recommended the attorney be suspended from practicing law for at least two years. The committee also demanded that the D.C. bar keep Clark out of work until he can “show fitness for readmission is an appropriate sanction for what was charged and proven.”
In their 213-page report, Chair Merril Hirsh, Public Member Patricia Mathews, and Attorney Member Rebecca C. Smith accuse Clark of “truly extraordinary recklessness” over claims he violated bar rules by drafting a letter to Peach State officials noting the DOJ “identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the [2020] election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.”
Clark never sent the letter, but the legal licensing association charged him in July 2022 anyway with “attempted dishonesty” and “attempted serious interference with the administration of justice” for considering recommending an investigation of inconsistencies in the 2020 election. He was also named as one of the 19 “co-conspirator” targets in Democrats’ wide-ranging election indictment in Georgia.
The Washington D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility’s hearing committee acknowledged that Clark was “in a unique position to act” in the aftermath of the 2020 election and “believed it was his duty to do so,” but said he deserves punishment for his legal and protected work history anyway.
The committee conceded Clark is a “highly-credentialed, hard-working lawyer who represents clients tenaciously” who acted sincerely during his tenure at the DOJ. Yet
