Ethics charges filed against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark

Jeff Clark, the former Trump administration Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, is facing ethics charges at the D.C. Bar that could force him to cooperate with any possible DOJ investigation against Donald Trump, according to legal experts.

Clark, should Donald Trump ever again become President, is on the shortlist to become his Attorney General.

Reuters’ reporter covering the U.S. Justice Department, Sarah N. Lynch, broke the news Friday.

READ MORE: FBI raids on Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman 'could fuel charges' against Donald Trump: report

“The D.C. Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel has filed ethics charges against” Clark, Lynch said on Twitter.

“DC Bar says Clark made false statements about Georgia’s election results in a draft letter he pressured Acting AG and Acting DAG to send to the state,” Lynch, who has reported on Clark previously, adds.

“He is charged with attempting to engage in dishonesty by making false statements and by engaging in conduct that would ‘seriously interfere with the administration of justice.'”

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, now a law professor and MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst explains:

The DC Bar has filed ethics charges against wannabe-attorney general Jeff Clark. These allegations mirror potential federal charges. If charged, Clark would have to decide between prison & cooperation; he could be a powerful assist for a DOJ case against Trump.

READ MORE: Trump told DOJ official 'just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me'

The “wannabe” remark references Clark’s suggestion to Trump that he make him Acting Attorney General.

“Trump considered naming Clark, an environmental attorney, to replace acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen after Rosen refuted claims of fraud,” Axios reported last month, referring to the time period after Attorney General Bill Barr resigned, December 24, 2020, until Trump ultimately left the White House on Jan. 20, 2021.

“Former Trump officials testified Thursday that Jeffrey Clark, former assistant attorney general, wanted to investigate election fraud and have former President Trump install him as attorney general with a plan they called ‘nuts’ and a ‘murder-suicide pact,'” Axios added.

Pointing to her previous reporting from March, Lynch says, “The charges come just a few months after I reported that former Acting AG Rosen and former Acting [Deputy Attorney General] Donoghue testified about Clark’s conduct to the DC bar.”

She’s also posted a copy of the first page of the charges.

READ MORE: Feds raid home of Justice Department official pressured by Donald Trump to overturn 2020 election