Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Former Trump DoJ Official Who Backed Fraud Claims in 2020 Election

Jeffrey Clark, a former Department of Justice official and prominent ally of former US President Donald Trump, was named last week in a Senate Judiciary Committee report regarding 45's pressure campaign against high-ranking DoJ officials. Per the report, Clark violated a DoJ-White House contacts policy when he met with Trump in December 2020.

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol has issued a subpoena for Jeffrey Clark, a former acting Civil Division assistant attorney general, to produce relevant documents by October 29, the date of his deposition before the committee.

"The Select Committee’s investigation has revealed credible evidence that you attempted to involve the Department of Justice in efforts to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power," the subpoena read.

"You proposed that the department send a letter to state legislators in Georgia and other states suggesting that they delay certification of their election results and hold a press conference announcing that the department was investigating allegations of voter fraud."

BREAKING: The Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Jeffrey Clark, the former DOJ official who aided Trump’s push to overturn election results.

They want documents and testimony on Oct. 29 pic.twitter.com/05n7tER9Jr

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 13, 2021

The move comes as the committee, comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans, seeks to make sense of how Trump tried to pressure DoJ officials to probe baseless claims of election fraud during his final days in office.

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee released a report which claimed that Clark - while employed as a DoJ official - was involved in the former US president's attempt to delay a peaceful transfer of power.

The report detailed that Clark repeatedly violated the DoJ-White House contacts policy when he met with Trump on multiple occasions late last year. Clark, being both a US Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and an assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, was prohibited from meeting with the US president without prior authorization.

"The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about efforts inside the previous administration to delay the certification of the 2020 election and amplify misinformation about the election results," Select Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said in a quoted statement on Wednesday. "We need to understand Mr. Clark’s role in these efforts at the Justice Department and learn who was involved across the administration. The Select Committee expects Mr. Clark to cooperate fully with our investigation."

The Select Committee has also issued subpoenas for a number of key Trump allies, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump 'senior adviser' Steve Bannon. Thompson has suggested that the group will consider issuing criminal referrals to those who refuse to cooperate with the investigation.