He suggested that the committee delay its request for Clark’s testimony until that lawsuit is resolved. MacDougald also referenced Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block the committee from obtaining more than 700 records related to January 6. “As a result, any attempts - whether by the House or by the current President - to invade that sphere of confidentiality must be resisted.” Clark is subject to a sacred trust - one that is particularly vital to the constitutional separation of powers,” Clark’s lawyer wrote in his 15-page letter. “I’m going in,” Clark told CNN Friday morning upon walking into an office building. Going into the session, Clark did not describe his level of cooperation with the panel. Neither Clark, nor MacDougald, would answer questions as they left. The appearance lasted about an hour and a half, during which time Clark and his attorney walked in and out of the room on several occasions. Clark’s appearance was delayed until Friday, after he parted ways with a lawyer who was preparing him to the House last week. So far, Clark is one of only a few then-Trump administration officials to have received a congressional subpoena. It was among the dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits filed by Trump’s legal team after his election loss in an attempt in court to gain traction on voter fraud.Ĭlark was one of the officials within the Justice Department pushing to pursue unfounded claims of voter fraud in the weeks after the November election, and, according to officials who interacted with him, was in touch with Trump repeatedly. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that aimed at overturning Joe Biden’s win in the state. He worked with former President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Sidney Powell on a lawsuit against Georgia Republican Gov. MacDougald, an Atlanta-based attorney, previously worked on the pro-Trump lawsuits that pushed unfounded claims of election fraud. “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. “We need the information that he is withholding and we are willing to take strong measures to hold him accountable to meet his obligation.” “He has a very short time to reconsider and cooperate fully,” the Mississippi Democrat said. Instead, Clark provided a letter from his attorney Harry MacDougald that claimed he could not provide testimony until a court declares that his interactions with former President Donald Trump are not protected under attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.ĬNN has not obtained a copy of the letter, first reported by Politico, but confirmed its contents through a source with knowledge of the letter.Ĭommittee Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement later Friday that he had considered and rejected Clark’s claim that he didn’t have to answer questions under subpoena.
0 kommentar(er)
