by Mary Margaret Olohan
Department of Justice Kristen ClarkeDeputy Attorney General for Civil Rights will receive three ethics complaints and a criminal referral on Monday, The Daily Signal found out.
Article III The project is submitted both ethics complaints and criminal caseswhich calls on Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into Clarke on the grounds that she “knowingly and willfully” made “materially false statements” and committed “perjury.”
“There is ample evidence to support this referral for false statements and perjury,” said Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project. in a criminal referral. Davis’ organization focuses on defending constitutionalist judges, opposing radical judicial nominations, and repelling “radical attacks on judicial independence,” such as court appearances.
Applications are due on April 30 reporting from The Daily Signal revealing for the first time that Clarke concealed her arrest for a domestic violence incident and its subsequent expungement from investigators while she awaited Senate confirmation of her senior position at the Justice Department.
Her ex-husband Reginald Averytold The Daily Signal that Clarke attacked him with a knife, cutting his finger to the bone while they were married in 2006. That record was later erased, The Daily Signal confirmed.
Asked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., during her confirmation: “Since you became an adult, have you ever been arrested or charged with committing a violent crime against any person?” she replied, “No” according to a 66-page document she submitted under oath to “Questions for the Record” from senators.
Clarke did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal, although the Justice Department previously acknowledged receiving the requests. Following an initial report by The Daily Signal Clarke told CNN she concealed the arrest during her Senate confirmation, but then testified that she had been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her ex-husband.
Avery told The Daily Signal that he was not abusive to his ex-wife.
“Avery has accused Kristen Clarke of committing a violent crime,” reads the Article III criminal referral. “He also alleged that local police in Maryland arrested her. Police and court records show that an arrest took place.”
“Most importantly, Kristen Clarke confirmed this in her statement to reporter Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN,” the criminal complaint continues. “Kristen Clarke answered Senator Cotton’s question under oath in a manner inconsistent with what she admitted three years later.”
That criminal complaint called Clarke’s conduct “egregious,” arguing that Cotton asked her a plain question to which she “intentionally” and “knowingly” gave a false answer.
“Kristen Clarke claims she had the ‘option’ not to disclose this incident,” Davis continues in the motion. “This statement shows a complete disregard for the role of the United States Senate in assessing the worthiness of a candidate for confirmation. Neither Kristen Clarke nor the state of Maryland has the authority to decide what information the Senate should know. This power belongs to the Senate. Senator Cotton asked a routine question and Kristen Clarke did not answer it honestly.
The referral also noted that Garland had repeatedly stated that “no one is above the law,” including former President Donald Trump.
“But,” Davis said, “with Garland refusing to take any action more than seven weeks after the undisputed evidence and public report to the Senate of Kristen Clarke’s perjury, it is very clear that Kristen Clarke is above the law.”
The Article III Project also filed ethics complaints with the Offices of Disciplinary Counsel in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
The Justice Department and Washington’s ethics complaints note that Clarke, like any other nominee requiring Senate confirmation, had to answer a series of questions under oath, both in writing and orally.
“Kristen Clarke’s knowingly and willfully false response to one of these questions constitutes the basis of this complaint,” the complaint filed with the Department of Justice states.
The New York ethics complaint accuses Clarke of violating the state’s code of professional conduct, which prohibits lawyers from “engaging in illegal conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s integrity, credibility, or suitability.”
It also argues that “Clarke’s unequivocal response to Senator Cotton’s question was unfair because she denied the accusation and arrest,” which constituted a “misrepresentation” that was “material because such an accusation affects the character and suitability of a candidate for a powerful government position, especially one that involves enforcing our rights.”
“Kristen Clarke’s misrepresentation is compounded by her continued refusal to admit it three years later,” the New York ethics complaint states. “Instead, it maintains that the Senate had no right to know the truth about the July 4, 2006 incident.”
This prompted the Daily Signal’s reporting on Clarke calls on her to resign from the seat of Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a Republican, the New York Post editorial board and others. In early May, a group of conservative leaders called on Clarke to resign from his management position in a letter sent to a senior Justice Department official.
Kristen Clarke is responsible for enforcing civil rights laws.
It aggressively enforces these laws against anyone who sneezes near an abortion clinic.
And not against those who destroy churches.
During the confirmation process, she lied under oath and should resign. https://t.co/5tHpaG4a2W
— Mike Lee (@Based onMikeLee) May 1, 2024
“The American people have lost faith in your ability to lead the Civil Rights Division,” reads the letter to Clarke, signed by Advancing American Freedom executive director Paul Teller, Tom Jones of the American Accountability Foundation, Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins and CatholicVote president Brian Burch. “We demand his immediate resignation.”
The letter repeatedly references The Daily Signal’s reporting and includes a copy of the original story. Also indicates Clarke’s execution the Free Access to Clinical Entrance Act, also known as the FACE Act, against pro-life activists.
“The American people deserve a Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice run with integrity and honesty,” the letter reads. “Since taking over the Civil Rights Division, you have weaponized the Department of Justice, using the FACE Act against Pro-Life Americans in unprecedented ways – even standing idly by while churches and pro-life centers are destroyed and Jewish students are prevented from attending classes on college campuses.”
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Mary Margaret Olohan is a senior reporter for The Daily Signal and author of the book “Detrans: True stories of escape from the cult of gender ideology” She previously reported for both The Daily Caller and The Daily Wire. Send her an email.
Cover photo “United States Department of Justice” by Sebmol. CC BY-SA 3.0.
