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President Donald J. Trump stops to speak to reporters as he walks towards Marine One and leaves the South Lawn of the White House.
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump plotted earlier this month to oust Jeffrey Rosen from his post as interim attorney general and replace him with a Department of Justice lawyer who would assist him in his efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The plan would have replaced Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, the lawyer who headed the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Clark then allegedly supported Trump’s baseless allegations of electoral fraud and pressured Georgia state officials to change the election result.
A Justice Department official familiar with the case confirmed to NBC News the Times the account of Trump’s efforts.
Trump’s plan ultimately did not materialize after Justice Department officials agreed on a conference call that they would step down if Rosen was fired, according to the Times.
Trump had urged Rosen to appoint special counsels to investigate his allegations of widespread electoral fraud as well as the Dominion voting machine company, but Rosen declined.
In December, Trump tried to pressure Georgia’s senior election investigator to “find the fraud” in an investigation into suspected ballot fraud in Cobb County, allegations officials of the State have deemed unfounded. Trump also urged Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes to tip the election in his favor.
In a statement to the Times, Clark categorically denied devising a plan to oust Rosen or provide recommendations for action based on factual inaccuracies on the internet.
The House accused Trump of instigating an insurgency against the government on January 6 following deadly riots on Capitol Hill. His Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to begin the week of February 8.
Read the full Times report here
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