WASHINGTON, Dec 1 – A U.S. congressional hearing commissioning a January 6 murder in the Capitol voted unanimously in favor of Congress against Jeffrey Clark, a senior Justice Department official under former President Donald Trump.
Seven members of the Democratic Alliance and two Republicans on the House of Representatives Select Committee approved the criminal record with a 9-0 vote, after Clark appeared before a committee in early November but refused to answer questions or provide documentation.
The committee’s approval of the report paved the way for the House as a whole to vote on whether it commended the contempt cases, although it also gave him the opportunity to maintain co-operation later this week.
Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Democratic Alliance party, said before the vote Clark’s lawyer contacted them on Wednesday evening and said Clark had asked for his right to amend the Fifth Amendment and agreed to continue filing his application.
Thompson said however the committee continues to look down on it, and has ordered Clark to appear on Saturday. “We will not allow anyone to run out of time, we will emphasize that he must appear,” Thompson said.
Republican representative Liz Cheney, the vice-chairman of the committee, said the team would not end the contempt plan if Clark “truly cured his failure to comply with the law” on Saturday.
Authorization by the full-fledged, democratically elected House will refer the matter to the Department of Justice for a decision on whether to prosecute.
Clark, the former head of the civil service in the Department of Justice, was a supporter of Trump’s false allegations that his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 election was the result of a fraud.
Clark argued that he was free to comply with the invitation of the Select Committee because his communications were protected by a legal right.
RIGHT QUESTION
Trump has urged former aides to ignore the subpoenas, issue statements that humiliate their members and claim that he is protected by the right to govern, a legitimate system that protects contact with the president.
Legal experts disprove the argument, saying it does not apply to former presidents.
The committee made it clear that it would enforce its summons.
“There is nothing unusual about Congress demanding evidence from a former Executive Branch official. Even a former White House (Mark Meadows) official is still cooperating with our investigation,” Thompson said.
Trump’s longtime adviser Steve Bannon has denied two counts of contempt for the ANC last month after he defied a committee order.
About 700 people have been charged with involvement in the January 6 Capitol attacks by Trump supporters who want to prevent Congress from confirming his loss in the 2020 election. It was the worst attack on a US government seat since the War of 1812.
Four people were killed on the day of the riots, and one Capitol policeman died the next day from injuries sustained while defending the ANC. Hundreds of police officers were injured during the hours of the attack, and four policemen were killed.
The Select Committee has issued at least 45 summonses to individuals and organizations and conducted hundreds of interviews with witnesses.