DC Bar panel says attorney Jeffrey Clark likely broke ethics rule in aiding Trump after 2020 election

Part of the ongoing lawfare being waged against former President Donald Trump has involved targeted attacks on the legal professionals who have dared to work on his behalf.

The latest development on that particular front is a Thursday decision from a three-member board of responsibility panel with the Washington, D.C. Bar finding that former Justice Department official and Trump-affiliated lawyer Jeffrey Clark likely ran afoul of at least one ethics rule on behalf of the then-president, as The Hill reports.

At issue in the panel's review were allegations that Clark's conduct involved an attempt to engage in dishonest acts that would “seriously interfere with the administration of justice,” as described by disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox III.

The crux of the alleged offense was a draft “Proof of Concept” letter written by Clark following the 2020 election, which claimed that the Justice Department had isolated a number of concerns that could have impacted the vote totals, including in Georgia.

Though Clark had sent the letter to a pair of high-ranking officials at the DOJ, both had declined to sign it, citing what they believed were falsehoods contained therein.

In response to the D.C. Bar's allegations, Harry MacDougald, representing Clark, declared the disciplinary inquiry unprecedented and characterized his client's letter as indicative of the sort of debate in which lawyers customarily engage.

The imposition of any discipline as a result of the letter, MacDougald said, would yield a “chilling effect” on members of the legal profession.

It is worth noting that the ruling of the three-member panel is only preliminary in nature and could still be subject to revision, though its members stated that “disciplinary counsel has proven at least one violation of any of the charged disciplinary rules.”

Clark is not the only lawyer who is now wrestling with the professional fallout of his association with Trump in the wake of the 2020 election, with NBC News reporting late last month that John Eastman, who is also a co-defendant of the former president in his Georgia criminal case, received bad news related to his bar status in the state of California.

Judge Yvette Roland of the State Bar Court's Hearing Department recommended that the Trump-linked attorney lose his license to practice law, writing, “In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman's misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that Eastman be disbarred,” finding him culpable in 10 out of the 11 allegations leveled in his case.

The decision came as a result of charges against Eastman claiming that he actively promoted a legal strategy that was not grounded in the law or the facts, one which involved a plan whereby then-Vice President Mike Pence would block certification of the election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

Randall Miller, representing Eastman in the matter, took issue with the judge's finding, saying, “Dr. Eastman maintains that his handling of the legal issues he was asked to assess after the November 2020 election was based on reliable legal precedent, prior presidential elections, research of constitutional text, and extensive scholarly material.”

Miller added, “The process undertaken by Dr. Eastman in 2020 is the same process taken by lawyers every day and everywhere – indeed, that is the essence of what lawyers do. They are ethically bound to be zealous advocates for their clients – a duty Dr. Eastman holds inviolate.”

As The Hill noted, however, Eastman is of the belief that his disbarment is not a foregone conclusion and that “there's a lot of water to go under the bridge yet” before his fate reaches the state Supreme Court for final adjudication, but whether he will ultimately prevail and preserve his ability to practice law, only time will tell.