Trump official recommended for severe discipline as DC Bar seeks to 'send a message'

The Washington, D.C. Bar's board of professional responsibility submitted its recommendation that a former senior official for President Donald Trump be disbarred.

Jeffrey Clark, Trump's acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, was handcuffed outside his home in the summer of 2022. Then-special counsel Jack Smith found he was among six co-conspirators who attempted to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election and block a peaceful transfer of power.

In the final weeks of the first Trump administration, he nearly appointed Clark to serve as the acting attorney general, but other officials threatened to publicly resign if he did.

Clark was also indicted in Georgia in 2023 on allegations of violating state racketeering laws and making false statements. He pleaded not guilty.

Clark was indicted in Georgia last summer, where he’s charged with violating the state’s racketeering law and attempting to make false statements. He has pleaded not guilty.

The letter from the D.C. Bar said that a majority of the board supported the recommendation that Clark be disbarred as a consequence of his actions.

"We recognize that there are no factually comparable prior disciplinary cases. But that is not surprising given the underlying facts," the ruling says. "In making this recommendation, we are mindful of the need to maintain the integrity of the legal profession and deter the respondent and other attorneys from engaging in similar misconduct."

The recommendation explained that lawyers must "observe the highest standard of professional conduct" and, at a bare minimum, "they must be honest."

"While dishonesty is always intolerable, the facts here are significantly aggravating to warrant disbarment: Respondent was prepared to cause the Justice Department to tell a lie about the status of its investigation of an important national issue (the integrity of the 2020 Presidential election)," the recommendation continued. "Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements and they certainly cannot urge others to do so. Respondent persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue. He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated."

When appearing before the Bar for the hearing, Clark pleaded his Fifth Amendment privilege "repeatedly," NBC News reported last year.

The Bar previously ruled that Clark's election scheme violated attorney ethics rules, Politico reported in 2024.