New Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for an investigation into Donald Trump’s reported plot to use a loyalist within the Department of Justice to wield the might of the federal government to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results.
Trump plotted with Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey Clark to replace acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen, who repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s demands to take action to overturn Georgia voters’ choice for president, several inside sources told The New York Times. The scheme hit a snag when Justice officials said they would all resign if Rosen was fired.
Schumer referred to the plot in a tweet as “attempted sedition,” intended to “subvert the will of the people.” He called for the inspector general of the Justice Department to launch an investigation. He also noted that the Senate will “move forward” with Trump’s impeachment trial, hinting that the scheme could become part of the former president’s trial.
Bloomberg reported that Clark, who resigned from the DOJ Jan. 14, is now “radioactive” to future potential employers.
Law firms are increasingly aware of reputation hits linked to being connected with someone like Clark, legal industry consultant Kent Zimmermann told Bloomberg.
“I think most firms are committed to upholding the rule of law and feel strongly about that, and I think that Jeff Clark would be radioactive in their minds and inconsistent with their values,” added Zimmerman, who works for the Zeughauser Group.
Clark “categorically denied” to the Times that he devised a plot with Trump to bounce Rosen, but said he couldn’t go into details about the former president or Justice Department lawyers due to “the strictures of legal privilege.” Trump and Rosen refused to comment.