Two Pennsylvanians figured prominently in the findings of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as the panel released a summary of its investigation Monday and made referrals for potential criminal and ethics charges.
The committee accused Jeffrey Clark, a Philadelphia native and former Justice Department attorney, of conspiring with former President Donald Trump to defraud the United States government. Clark supported false election claims and was in line to be appointed U.S. Attorney General by Trump. The committee included him in a list of people referred for possible criminal prosecution.
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), a close Trump ally, was among four House Republicans that the committee referred to the House Ethics Committee Monday for possible sanction over their refusals to comply with subpoenas.
“With regard to the Department of Justice, Jeffrey Clark stands out as a participant in the conspiracy,” the investigative committee wrote, pointing to evidence that Clark, if appointed attorney general, planned to send out a letter falsely saying that federal prosecutors had found reason to doubt the election results in Georgia. “The letter was transparently false, improper, and illegal.”
The letter was never sent, and Trump backed down from plans to appoint Clark to the nation’s top law enforcement position when attorneys at the White House and the Justice Department threatened a mass resignation. Trump and his allies hoped the...
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