Jeffrey Clark letter

File:Jeffrey Bossert Clark official photo.jpg

{{Donald Trump series}}

The Jeffrey Clark letter was a draft letter{{cite news |title=Jeffrey Clark draft letter |url=https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/January-6-Clearinghouse-Jeffrey-Clark-emails-and-rejected-draft-letter-to-stop-Georgia-certification-december-28-2020.pdf |publisher=JustSecurity.org |date=December 28, 2020}} that falsely claimed the Department of Justice had been investigating "various irregularities in the 2020 election."

Joe Biden won the election on November 3, 2020. On December 28, Jeffrey Clark proposed to acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue that the letter be sent to Georgia lawmakers, with modified versions to be prepared for "contested states": Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/08/trump-doj-official-urged-acting-ag-pressure-georgia-election/5531371001/|title=Trump DOJ official Jeffrey Clark pushed acting AG to interfere in Georgia election: report|last=Brown|first=Matthew|date=August 8, 2021|work=USA Today|access-date=August 10, 2021}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/us/politics/scott-perry-trump-justice-department-election.html|title=Pennsylvania Lawmaker Played Key Role in Trump's Plot to Oust Acting Attorney General|first1=Katie|last1=Benner|first2=Catie|last2=Edmondson|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 24, 2021}} It called on these states to hold special legislative sessions; their goal was to secure alternate slates of electors who would cast votes for Donald Trump to overturn Biden's victory. Rosen and Donoghue rejected the proposal and no such letter was sent.

The letter originated with Ken Klukowski, a senior legal analyst for far-right Breitbart News. Klukowski had co-authored the 2010 book The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency. Klukowski emailed the letter to Clark, and 20 minutes later, Clark emailed it to Rosen and Donoghue.{{cite news |last1=Kranish |first1=Michael |title=Inside the explosive Oval Office confrontation three days before Jan. 6 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/14/inside-explosive-oval-office-confrontation-three-days-before-jan-6/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 14, 2022}}