Jan. 6 Panel Postpones Jeffrey Clark Deposition Over Medical Condition

Jeffrey Clark, a Trump-era US Department of Justice official who served from 2018 to 2021, was originally scheduled to appear before the House Select Committee on Saturday, December 4th, as the 9-person panel unanimously voted to hold the 54-year-old accountable for his failure to cooperate with the panel's probe on the January 6th riot.

The US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol announced on Friday that it has rescheduled Clark's deposition due to an unnamed "medical condition".

"Through his attorney, Mr Clark has informed the Select Committee of a medical condition that precludes his participation in tomorrow's meeting", the statement read, noting that the 54-year-old provided the panel with "ample evidence of his claim".

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the House Select Committee, has agreed to postpone Clark's deposition until Thursday, December 16th.

On Wednesday, Thompson declared that Clark left the panel with "no other choice" after he refused to comply with a subpoena demanding the submission of deposition testimony and the production of documents that are relevant to the scope of the House Select Committee's ongoing investigation.

Clark served as both a US Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general for the US Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division and an assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Division.

According to the October subpoena, the panel's probe revealed credible evidence that Clark attempted to involve his department in efforts to block a peaceful transfer of power between administrations.

The House Select Committee's issuance detailed that Clark proposed the delivery of a letter to Georgia state lawmakers and other government officials to push for a delay in the certification of 2020 election votes. The former DOJ official has also been accused of recommending a news conference in which the DOJ would announce a probe into allegations of widespread voter fraud, despite lacking evidence to support the assertion.

As the panel proceeds with its investigation, Dr John Eastman, a conservative attorney who rose to prominence for backing then-US President Trump's opposition to the 2020 election results, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Chapman School of Law professor John Eastman testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 16, 2017, at a House Justice subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet hearing on restructuring the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

© AP Photo / Susan Walsh

Eastman's lawyer, Charles Burnham, noted in a December 1st letter that members of the committee have openly discussed making criminal referrals to the DOJ.

"Dr Eastman has a more than reasonable fear that any statements he makes pursuant to this subpoena will be used in an attempt to mount a criminal investigation against him", Burnham said of his client, who spoke at Trump's rally prior to the January 6th riot.