Schumer calls for investigation of alleged plan by Trump and DOJ lawyer to oust acting AG

On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) asked the Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice to investigate a suspected plan by former President Trump and a DOJ lawyer to impeach the acting attorney general and replace him with someone more willing to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.

Driving the news: The New York Times first reported on Friday that lawyer Jeffrey Clark imagined “ways to cast doubt on the election results and to reinforce Mr. Trump’s ongoing legal battles and pressure on Georgian politicians. Because Mr. [Jeffrey] Rosen had refused the President’s pleas to carry out these plans, Mr. Trump was on the verge of deciding whether to fire Mr. Rosen and replace him with Mr. Clark. ”

• Trump ultimately decided not to fire Rosen after DOJ officials unanimously decided to step down if the then president followed the plan, The Times reported. The Acting Attorney General and Clark also each presented their case at a “bizarre White House meeting that two officials compared to an episode of Mr. Trump’s reality show” The Apprentice ” . ”

Clark denied “categorically” that he hatched a plan to oust Rosen, according to the Times and the Washington Post, which also reported on the alleged plan.

• “I also did not make recommendations for action based on factual inaccuracies gleaned from the Internet,” Clark noted, according to the Post.
• “There was no maneuver[s]”. There was a frank discussion of the options, pros and cons with the President. It is unfortunate that those who participated in a privileged legal conversation publicly commented on these internal deliberations, while distorting the discussions. … Respect for legal privileges, which I will adhere to even if others do not, will prevent me from disclosing details about the conversation.
• The DOJ, Rosen and Trump declined to comment for the Times. An adviser told the newspaper that the justice system should investigate “the widespread electoral fraud that has plagued our system for years.”

What he says: “Downside that a Trump Justice Department leader would conspire to overthrow the will of the people, “Schumer tweeted on Saturday.

• “The inspector general of the Ministry of Justice must launch an investigation into this attempted sedition now,” he added.
• “And the Senate will move forward with Trump’s impeachment trial,” scheduled for the week of February 8.