Trump 'wanted to fire his AG and replace him with one who would overturn the election in Georgia'

Donald Trump planned to fire his Attorney General for refusing to overturn election results and replace him with one who would, according to a bombshell report.

Jeffrey Rosen, who was serving as acting Attorney General after Bill Barr resigned just before Christmas, would not agree to upend the presidential election result in Georgia, according to the New York Times. 

He also pushed Rosen to appoint special counsels, including one who would look into Dominion Voting Systems – an election machinery company, which Trump and his supporters accused, without any evidence, of switching votes from Trump to Joe Biden.

Trump worked with another Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, to try to overturn the Georgia vote. 

Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official, was considered as a replacement for the AG

Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official, was considered as a replacement for the AG

Jeffrey Rosen became acting Attorney General when Bill Barr stepped down before Christmas

Jeffrey Rosen became acting Attorney General when Bill Barr stepped down before Christmas

He even went as far as staging an ‘Apprentice-style’ interview with Clark and Rosen, with both men arguing to have the job, according to the report. 

When word reached other Justice Department officials of the plan to replace Rosen with Clark, and throw the presidential election into turmoil, they all agreed to resign en masse.

Steven Engel, the head of the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel, held a January 3 phone call with the shocked senior officials, and told them of Clark’s plan. 

Trump, concerned at the fallout from the mass resignation, then backed down, after a three hour meeting. 

Clark was nominated by Trump to be the Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), and sworn into office on November 1, 2018.

In September he also asked Clark to be the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. 

Clark, who graduated from the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware in 1993), followed by the Georgetown University Law Center, told the paper that he had in no way acted improperly.

‘Senior Justice Department lawyers, not uncommonly, provide legal advice to the White House as part of our duties. 

‘All my official communications were consistent with law.’ 

Trump declined to comment.

Clark told Rosen on January 3 that he was taking his job, but Rosen could be his deputy

Clark told Rosen on January 3 that he was taking his job, but Rosen could be his deputy

An adviser told the paper that Trump has consistently argued that the justice system should investigate ‘rampant election fraud that has plagued our system for years.’

The adviser added that ‘any assertion to the contrary is false and being driven by those who wish to keep the system broken.’

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, as did Rosen.

Rosen was serving as the deputy Attorney General when Barr announced his resignation, on December 14, giving a week’s notice.

Trump, according to the paper, summoned Rosen in to his office on December 15 to demand the Justice Department file legal briefs supporting his allies’ lawsuits seeking to overturn his election loss.

Rosen refused, and reiterated what Barr had privately told Trump – that they had investigated voting irregularities, and found no evidence of widespread fraud. 

Trump continued to push Rosen, with phone calls and in person demands.

Rosen and his deputy, Richard P. Donoghue, were unaware that Clark had been introduced to Trump by a Pennsylvania politician and had told the president that he agreed that fraud had affected the election results.

Clark was swiftly embraced by Trump.

Ted Lieu, who drafted the impeachment articles, was outraged at the report

Ted Lieu, who drafted the impeachment articles, was outraged at the report

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York - who was forced out by Trump - said that the report was just the beginning of a 'torrent' of damning information

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York – who was forced out by Trump – said that the report was just the beginning of a ‘torrent’ of damning information

He alarmed Rosen and Donoghue by mentioning that he spent a lot of time reading on the internet: they inferred that he was getting sucked into the conspiracy theory that Trump had won the election. 

Clark also told them that he wanted the department to hold a news conference announcing that it was investigating serious accusations of election fraud, but Rosen and Donoghue rejected the idea. 

Clark drafted a letter that he wanted Rosen to send to Georgia state legislators that wrongly said that the Justice Department was investigating accusations of voter fraud in their state. The letter said they should overrule the November 3 election. Rosen and Donoghue again blocked Clark.

On New Year’s Eve, the three men met to discuss their disagreements, and Donoghue told Clark that what he was doing was wrong.

On New Year’s Day Clark told Rosen, who had mentored him while they worked together at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, that he was going to discuss his strategy with the president early the next week. 

On January 3, at midday, Clark told Rosen he had met with Trump, and that Trump was planning to announce he was replacing Rosen with Clark.

Clark could then try to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College results. 

Clark told Rosen he could stay on as his deputy attorney general. 

The two men met with the president and other legal officials on the evening of January 3, and Trump ultimately decided not to replace Rosen with Clark. 

Trump complained to Justice Department leaders that the U.S. attorney in Atlanta, Byung J. Pak, was not trying to find evidence for the election fraud claims promoted by Rudy Giuliani and others.

Pak resigned on January 4, and a watchdog is now investigating the circumstances of his resignation, The Washington Post reported.

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York – who was forced out by Trump – said that the report was just the beginning of a ‘torrent’ of damning information.

Ted Lieu, who wrote the impeachment articles against Trump, said it showed why impeachment was so important: to show that a president cannot get away with such misconduct. 

source: dailymail.co.uk