Jeffrey Clark

Jeffrey Bossert Clark (born April 17, 1967) is an American lawyer who works in the United States Department of Justice. Previously a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, he was confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division on October 11, 2018 and was additionally appointed the acting head of the Civil Division in September 2020.

Early life and education

Jeffrey Bossert Clark was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended St. Leo Elementary School and Father Judge High School, where he was on the debate team. He was also on the parliamentary debate team at Harvard College, where he graduated with an A.B. in economics and history in 1989. He received a M.A. in urban affairs and public policy from the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration at the University of Delaware in 1993; and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995.

Career

After graduating from law school, Clark clerked for Judge Danny J. Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Clark joined Kirkland & Ellis as a lawyer in 1996. He has been with the firm since then, excepting a period of service from 2001 to 2005 in the George W. Bush administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department. At Kirkland & Ellis, Clark represented the United States Chamber of Commerce in lawsuits challenging the federal government's authority to regulate carbon emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency's "endangerment finding". From 2012 to 2015, he was a member of the governing council of the American Bar Association's Administrative Law Section.

In June 2017, Clark was nominated by President Donald Trump to become the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018. In September 2020 he was also appointed acting head of the Civil Division.

Views on regulating greenhouse gasses

Clark has opposed regulation of greenhouse gasses. He has characterized US efforts to regulate greenhouse gasses as “reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy.” Regarding the 2010 EPA finding on greenhouse gas emissions, Clark wrote in a blog: Vorlage:Quote

Attempts to overturn results of 2020 presidential election

Vorlage:Seealso Two days after the Trump administration ended, The New York Times reported that Clark was involved in an effort by Trump to replace the acting Attorney General of the United States Jeffrey Rosen with Clark, who would then pressure Georgia election officials to further Trump's attempts to interfere with the certification of election results. Rosen had previously resisted pressure from Trump to interfere. Clark allegedly told Rosen and other top Justice Department officials that the Department should announce it was investigating serious election fraud issues; Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue rejected the suggestion, as the Department had previously determined and announced that there was no significant fraud. Both men were unaware that Clark had met with Trump, until Clark later told Rosen that Trump intended to appoint him to replace Rosen. "The Department’s remaining senior leaders" including Rosen, Donoghue, and head of the OLC Steven Engel agreed they would all resign if Rosen was removed. Trump then backed away from the plan.

Contacted by the reporter, Clark denied that he had plotted to replace Rosen or to recommend any action based on inaccurate material he read on the internet. He added that he could not discuss any conversations he had with Trump or with Justice Department lawyers because of legal privilege. He noted that in December he had been the lead signatory on the Justice Department’s letter opposing a claim that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to reject electoral votes for Biden when Congress met to certify the result.

External links

• Department of Justice biography
• Vorlage:C-SPAN