Pro-Trump Lawyer Gets a Win Against DC Bar’s Request for Subpoena

Former DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark still faces a sanctions trial with the DC Bar disciplinary committee at the end of March that could result in disbarment.

Jeffrey Clark, former acting assistant attorney general, testifies during a January 6th field hearing held by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 13, 2023. Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images

A subpoena to compel former Justice Department (DOJ) attorney Jeffrey Clark to turn over documents related to his 2020 election litigation efforts was denied by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 26.

The appeals court’s three-judge panel ruled that the subpoena issued by the D.C. Bar Disciplinary Counsel “infringes on Mr. Clark’s Fifth Amendment right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself” as he defends himself in two separate court cases stemming from the 2020 election.

The panel said a comprehensive “opinion will issue in due course.”

The judges are Joshua Deahl, John Howard III, and Stephen Glickman.

Mr. Clark, along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other defendants, was indicted in August 2023 by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, over the group’s efforts to dispute the state’s 2020 election results.

“The defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who filed a total of 41 charges under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The other 17 defendants include former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell.

Mr. Clark also was identified as one of six alleged co-conspirators in a 45-page indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith against President Trump on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington.

That indictment brought four charges, including a conspiracy to “impair, obstruct, and defeat” the collection and counting of electoral votes while also alleging that President Trump knew his claims of election fraud were “false” because state and federal officials told him they weren’t true.

The D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel subpoenaed Mr. Clark in 2023 to obtain any documents he might have related to his efforts to dispute the 2020 election results in Georgia and other states.

D.C. Bar Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton “Phil” Fox said in a Feb. 23 hearing that his attempts to sanction Mr. Clark stem from a letter the former DOJ attorney drafted following the 2020 elections.

The “Proof of Concept” letter, drafted on Dec. 28, 2020, urged the Georgia governor, speaker of the state House, and president pro tempore of the state Senate to investigate alleged Georgia election fraud, particularly in Fulton County, where the August 2023 RICO indictment was filed.

At the time, Mr. Clark was the assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Division in the Justice Department.

The letter was withheld after then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and then-Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue both objected to its contents, saying it contained false information.

U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue announced criminal charges accusing a New York company, Aventura, of illegally importing and selling goods from China, in New York, on Nov. 7, 2019. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Before Attorney General William Barr resigned on Dec. 23, 2020, Mr. Donoghue was principal associate deputy attorney general.

He investigated allegations of election fraud for the DOJ after the 2020 election in which former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the winner over President Trump.

Mr. Barr announced twice in December 2020 that the DOJ failed to find support for election fraud allegations.

Mr. Clark was included in the Georgia election case because of the letter and events surrounding it.

In his June 29, 2022, “Specification of Charges” filing against Mr. Clark, Mr. Fox said the former DOJ lawyer “attempted to engage in conduct involving dishonesty” and “attempted to engage in conduct that would seriously interfere with the administration of justice.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Fox for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Mr. Clark’s attorney, Harry MacDougald, argued in federal court in September 2023 that Mr. Clark was working within his official duties while drafting the letter and that the situation highlights differing opinions among DOJ attorneys regarding 2020 election integrity.

Mr. MacDougald argued that the letter never left the DOJ offices and pushed for Mr. Clark’s case to be handled by a federal judge instead of a state judge from Georgia.

A federal judge declined to hear Mr. Clark’s case on Sept. 29, 2023, and said, “The burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt remains with the state [Georgia].”

The D.C. Bar disciplinary committee will review charges against Mr. Clark in a March 26 sanctions trial that could see actions against the attorney ranging from a written warning to disbarment.

Mr. Clark did not respond to a request for comment.

Allen Zhong, Janice Hisle, Catherine Yang, and Petr Svab contributed to this report.