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Trump Briefly Named Election Denier to Acting AG, Lawyer Claims

Trump had hoped Jeffrey Clark would help him void the results of the 2020 presidential election.

A lawyer for Jeffrey Clark—the election-denying Department of Justice official Donald Trump had hoped would help subvert the 2020 election results—now claims that his client was, ever so briefly, named the acting attorney general by the former president, according to Politico. Attorney Harry MacDougald made the assertion during a disciplinary trial for Clark on Thursday, over accusations he pressured the DOJ to have states void the results of the 2020 election. “There was a period on Jan. 3 when he was the acting attorney general until the president changed his mind later that day,” he said. While Trump’s plot to overthrow DOJ leadership has been reported on, MacDougald is the first person to publicly allege that the Trump loyalist was officially named to the position on Jan. 3, 2021. Reports have said Trump ditched the plan hours later when officials warned him there would be mass resignations. White House logs from that day list multiple calls to Clark from the Oval Office, and one to “Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Clark.” Still, some of Clark’s colleagues have cast doubt on whether the appointment was actually made, considering that it was likely a verbal offer that was never put into writing.