'I didn’t think he would do it': Trump may have quietly put Jeffrey Clark in charge of DOJ

29 March 2024

One of former President Donald Trump's main accomplices in his failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election appears to have briefly been the top law enforcement official in the United States, according to a new report.

Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney reported Friday that White House call logs show Jeffrey Clark — who was the head of the DOJ's civil division in the lame duck period of the Trump administration — was, for a few hours, given the title of "Acting Attorney General." That title was shown on an incoming call to the White House at 4:19 PM on January 3, 2021. He was referred to as "Mr. Jeffrey Clark" at 3:47 PM that day, suggesting Trump may have briefly appointed him to be the acting head of the US Department of Justice for at least a few hours that afternoon.

Even though "acting" presidential appointments don't require a confirmation vote by the US Senate, official paperwork would still have to be filed to confirm any such appointment. Trump was briefly entertaining the thought of making Clark the next acting Attorney General in an attempt to cling to power during the lame duck period after the election, given Clark's fervent support for Trump's efforts to overturn the election. He ultimately scuttled those plans when faced with the prospect of a wave of departures from the highest echelons of his administration.

Several top Trump aides said they had no knowledge of Clark's appointment. This may have been because Trump knew if he did elevate Clark to lead the DOJ, it would trigger an embarrassing mass exodus. One Trump aide — former White House counsel Pat Cippollone — also told Trump that he would resign if Clark was promoted.

"I didn’t think I would have to follow [the resignation promise] through, because I didn’t think he would do it," Cippollone told the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in 2022.

Richard Donoghue, who at the time was the top deputy to then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, was Clark's direct superior. He also threatened to quit if Trump put him in charge of the DOJ in early 2021.

"I never heard of any of that until I read it in a media account long after we left Washington," Donoghue told Politico. "I find that claim to be implausible."

The revelation about Clark briefly leading the DOJ came about during his disbarment proceedings in Washington, DC, where he may end up losing his law license over his work helping Trump try to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. During cross-examination by DC bar investigators, Clark invoked attorney-client privilege, which prompted one investigator to ask him about who his client was. Clark responded that he represented "President Trump, the head of the executive branch, the sole head, the unitary head of Article Two, the executive branch of the United States government."

Call logs Cheney cited in Politico also show Clark had multiple calls with Trump on January 3 alone. This was an apparent violation of DOJ policy that governed who had direct contact with the White House. During Clark's disbarment hearing on Thursday, Donoghue testified that he was "taken aback" by Clark's insubordination regarding the calls with Trump.

Clark is also one of Trump's co-defendants in the Fulton County, Georgia election interference case. District Attorney Fani Willis indicted Clark on multiple felony counts relating to efforts to subvert election results in Georgia, where Trump narrowly lost to President Joe Biden by less than 12,000 votes. If convicted, Clark could face up to 20 years in prison.

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