Trump Ex-Official Pleads The Fifth 100 Times, Declines Answering Jan. 6 Committee Questions

Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark on Wednesday pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a deposition with the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Clark, who served in the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump, pleaded the Fifth to “most” of the questions he was asked, cutting his time with the investigators down to an hour and 40 minutes, a source with knowledge of the interview told CNN. Key witnesses typically spend between six to eight hours with interviewers.

In general, the Fifth Amendment is invoked to avoid answering specific questions that may be negative or used against the person in question.

Clark was a central figure in Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He allegedly mounted a pressure campaign at the Justice Department, urging DOJ leaders to use the agency’s authority to investigate voter fraud allegations.

The 54-year-old former Trump official also urged Justice Department leaders to encourage several states to delay the certification of the 2020 election results. A separate letter he sent to legislative officials in Georgia urged them to put forward an alternative slate of electors for Trump.

“While the Department of Justice believe[s] the Governor of Georgia should immediately call a special session to consider this important and urgent matter,” the letter said.

“If he declines to do so, we share with you our view that the Georgia General Assembly has implied authority under the Constitution of the United States to call itself into special session for [t]he limited purpose of considering issues pertaining to the appointment of Presidential Electors.”

Clark is still facing criminal contempt of Congress referral after he refused to answer the committee’s questions in a previous deposition, including conversations he might have had with other Trump officials who gathered at a hotel in Washington, D.C., just days before the deadly Capitol riot. However, the committee chose to withhold the referral to give Clark another opportunity to be deposed.

It is unclear whether Wednesday’s deposition would push the committee to have Clark’s criminal contempt referral voted on by the House.