Jeffrey Clark’s Persistent Efforts To Avoid Adjudicating Merits Of Bar Charges

The pre-hearing conference scheduled for this afternoon in the much-delayed Jeffrey Clark bar discipline matter has been postponed while the assigned hearing committee takes “under advisement” a motion to vacate committee orders because a certified copy of the federal district court remand order has not been received.

Clark’s motion relies on  28 U.S.C. 1447(c), which involves removal of a civil action from a federal to a state court.

Disciplinary Counsel responds that the statute is inapplicable as the matter is neither civil or criminal and that the hearing committee is not a state court. Thus, Disciplinary Counsel asserts that the certified copy will not be sent

Indeed, the district court clerk confirmed with undersigned counsel that it would not mail a copy of the district court’s order for precisely that reason.

Five minutes ago, the bar’s web page posted a hearing committee order holding the matter in abeyance pending receipt of an affidavit from Disciplinary Counsel setting forth the specifics of its interactions with the district court clerk.

The Specification of Charges was filed on July 19, 2022.

Clark has not yet filed a substantive Answer.

I have previously opined that this prosecution – involving allegations that Clark sought to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election by falsely asserting the position of the United States Department of Justice – is the most significant case brought in the history of the District of Columbia disciplinary system. (Mike Frisch)