Trump Justice Dept. Official Defies Request by Jan. 6 Panel

WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Clark, a erstwhile Justice Department authoritative involved successful erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s frenzied efforts to overturn the 2020 statesmanlike election, refused to cooperate connected Friday with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, starring to a crisp rebuke from the committee’s chairman.

The standoff betwixt Mr. Clark and the committee is the 2nd specified confrontation since Congress began investigating the circumstances surrounding the Capitol violence, seeking accusation connected Mr. Trump’s attempts to subvert the election. The House has already voted to find 1 Trump ally, Stephen K. Bannon, in transgression contempt of Congress for stonewalling the inquiry.

“Mr. Clark’s implicit nonaccomplishment to cooperate contiguous is unacceptable,” said Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the president of the committee. “As prescribed by the House rules, I person considered Mr. Clark’s assertion of privilege and rejected it. He has a precise abbreviated clip to reconsider and cooperate fully. We request the accusation that helium is withholding, and we are consenting to instrumentality beardown measures to clasp him accountable.”

Mr. Clark appeared earlier the committee connected Friday but delivered a missive saying helium would not reply substantive questions. He cited attorney-client privilege protecting his conversations with Mr. Trump.

“He is duty-bound not to supply grounds to your committee covering accusation protected by the erstwhile president’s assertion of enforcement privilege,” Mr. Clark’s lawyer, Harry W. MacDougald, wrote successful a missive to the committee, which was reported earlier by Politico. “Mr. Clark cannot reply deposition questions astatine this time.”

Mr. Bannon besides cited Mr. Trump’s directive for erstwhile aides and advisers to invoke immunity and refrain from turning implicit documents that mightiness beryllium protected nether enforcement privilege successful his refusal to cooperate. A national justice expressed skepticism connected Thursday astir the merits of Mr. Trump’s suit against the committee seeking to block from merchandise astatine slightest 770 pages of documents related to the Capitol riot.

Under national law, immoderate idiosyncratic summoned arsenic a legislature witnesser who refuses to comply tin look a misdemeanor complaint that carries a good of $100 to $100,000 and a jailhouse condemnation of 1 period to 1 year.

Mr. Thompson suggested specified a punishment could await Mr. Clark, erstwhile a little-known official who repeatedly pushed his colleagues astatine the Justice Department to assistance Mr. Trump undo his loss.

The committee has issued a subpoena seeking grounds and records from Mr. Clark, a absorption that indicates it is deepening its scrutiny of the basal causes of the attack, which disrupted a legislature league called to number the electoral votes formalizing President Biden’s victory.

Mr. Thompson contrasted Mr. Clark’s refusal to cooperate with the actions of Jeffrey A. Rosen, who was acting lawyer wide during the Trump administration, and antecedently sat for a lengthy interrogation with the committee.

“His refusal to reply questions astir the erstwhile president’s effort to usage the Department of Justice to overturn the predetermination is successful nonstop opposition to his supervisors astatine the department,” Mr. Thompson said successful a statement. “It’s astounding that idiosyncratic who truthful precocious held a presumption of nationalist spot to uphold the Constitution would present fell down vague claims of privilege by a erstwhile president, garbage to reply questions astir an onslaught connected our ideology and proceed an battle connected the regularisation of law.”

Mr. MacDougald’s missive argued that Mr. Clark had thing to bash with the events of Jan. 6.

“He has informed maine helium worked from location that time to debar wrestling with imaginable thoroughfare closures to get to and from his bureau astatine Main Justice,” the missive said. “Nor did Mr. Clark person immoderate responsibilities to oversee information astatine the Capitol oregon person the quality to deploy immoderate Department of Justice unit oregon resources there.”

But the Senate Judiciary Committee said successful a caller study determination was credible grounds that Mr. Clark was involved successful different efforts to interrupt the peaceful transportation of power, citing his connection to present a missive to authorities legislators successful Georgia and others encouraging them to hold certification of predetermination results.

The Senate committee besides said Mr. Clark recommended holding a quality league announcing that the Justice Department was investigating allegations of elector fraud, successful enactment with Mr. Trump’s repeated demands, contempt a deficiency of grounds of immoderate fraud. Both proposals were rejected by elder leaders successful the department.

The New York Times reported successful January that Mr. Clark besides discussed with Mr. Trump a program to oust Mr. Rosen, and wield the department’s powerfulness to unit authorities lawmakers successful Georgia to overturn its statesmanlike predetermination results. Mr. Clark denied the report, which was based connected the accounts of 4 erstwhile Trump medication officials who asked not to beryllium named due to the fact that of fearfulness of retaliation.

Mr. Clark’s subpoena is 1 of 19 issued by the committee. The sheet has interviewed much than 150 witnesses truthful far, according to a idiosyncratic with cognition of its activities.