Jeffrey Clark's lawyer says Trump appointed him to lead Justice Department briefly before Jan. 6

Lawyers for Jeffrey Clark, an ally of former President Donald Trump who helped him push claims of fraud in the 2020 election, said that Trump briefly appointed Clark to head the Justice Department on Jan. 3, 2021, just days before thousands of people pushed their way into the Capitol Building and disrupted vote certification on Jan. 6.

It was not previously known whether Trump actually appointed Clark to serve as acting attorney general, and no official paperwork appears to be on the record to show this.

Clark’s lawyer Harry MacDougald said on Thursday, “There was a period on Jan. 3 when he was the acting attorney general until the president changed his mind later that day.”

Trump also referred to Clark as acting attorney general in his phone on Jan. 3.

When it became known what Trump was planning to do in appointing Clark, his staff members confronted him and said there would be massive resignations if he tried to co-opt the Justice Department in this way, so he backed down.

Clark is now facing disbarment for his actions around the election and Jan. 6.