January 6 committee recommends holding former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark in contempt

WASHINGTON (CN) — House lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection voted to pursue contempt charges against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark over his refusal to answer questions about the violent attack by a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters determined to overturn the election

The former assistant attorney general, who grew close with Trump as fervor about his baseless election claims spread, appeared for a deposition before the panel last month but claimed executive privilege and refused to answer any questions about the former president and his attempts to get the Justice Department to delay the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.

Clark's attorney sent a letter to the committee late Tuesday night before the Wednesday contempt vote saying Clark now intends to assert his Fifth Amendment right to abstain from answering questions to avoid self-incrimination, despite Clark having had the opportunity to invoke the Fifth Amendment during his November deposition, Committee Chairman Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said Wednesday.

Thompson referred to the letter as a "last ditch attempt" to avoid a contempt vote, but said the committee will provide Clark the chance to appear again for a deposition on Saturday where he will have to assert his Fifth Amendment right on a question by question basis throughout his testimony.

Despite Clark's agreement to appear for another deposition, the committee voted unanimously to move forward with contempt charges due to the lengthy process which requires a vote in the House as well as a decision by the Justice Department on prosecution in order for Clark to face repercussions.

"We will proceed tonight with considering the contempt request as this is just the first step of the contempt process. We just want the facts and we need witnesses to cooperate with the legal obligation and provide us with the information of what lead to the Jan. 6 attack. Mr. Clark still has that opportunity and I hope he takes advantage of it," Thompson said Wednesday.

A Senate Judiciary Committee report earlier this year found that in the leadup to the election certification, Clark proposed sending a letter to lawmakers in Georgia and multiple other states asking them to delay certifying the election while the DOJ investigated voting irregularities despite there being no evidence of oddities in the election.

Trump also considered promoting Clark to attorney general as the former president's mounting pressure on the department to launch legal fights on behalf of his baseless election claims was met with pushback from other members of the DOJ, according to the report.

In a subpoena calling for Clark to testify, Thompson wrote Clark's "efforts risked involving the Department of Justice in actions that lacked evidentiary foundation and threatened to subvert the rule of law."

Although he agreed to appear before the investigative committee, a transcript released by the panel shows Clark's attorney objecting to any questions during his Nov. 5 deposition, claiming that Clark's involvement in the former administration exempted him from all inquiries.

"We do not intend to answer any questions or produce any documents today, but we have appeared in compliance with the subpoena in order to assert those objections, as opposed to just refusing to show up," Clark's attorney Harry MacDougald told the committee on Nov. 5, according to the transcript.

Responding to Clark's refusal to provide the committee with information, Thompson rejected Clark's claims of privilege.

"It’s astounding that someone who so recently held a position of public trust to uphold the Constitution would now hide behind vague claims of privilege by a former President, refuse to answer questions about an attack on our democracy, and continue an assault on the rule of law," Thompson said in a statement.

While the Department of Justice has said executive privilege does not apply to Clark, and other department officials who served at the same time as Clark have testified before the committee, the former government lawyer asserted multiple claims of immunity, a strategy that many former Trump allies have used in attempts to skirt divulging information to the panel.

Trump's close confidant Steve Bannon, who claimed executive privilege, was charged with two counts of criminals contempt earlier last month for defying a committee subpoena, a sign the Justice Department is willing to pursue charges against members of Trump's circle who obstruct the panel's investigation of the infamous day and the former president's involvement.

Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows agreed to partially cooperate with the panel earlier this week after he defied a subpoena and was threatened with contempt charges last month.

Thompson said that, with regards to Meadows, the committee "will continue to assess his degree of compliance with our subpoena after the deposition.”

While the committee continues to face roadblocks from former Trump allies, Meadows' partial cooperation and the threat of charges against those who defy subpoenas mark a continued effort by the panel to get to the heart of the former president's communications and the actions of the Trump administration leading up to the violent attack. The committee has subpoenaed more than 40 witnesses, including White House aides, organizers of rallies and far-right extremists, and interviewed more than 150 witnesses.

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