Jan. 6 panel interviews Rosen, eyes subpoena for Clark amid focus on Trump efforts at DOJ

The special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is increasingly focusing on former Justice Department officials pressured by President Trump to investigate his election claims, according to multiple reports.

The efforts to speak with former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark come following the release of a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee detailing Trump’s pressure campaign on the department.

The House panel is now preparing to subpoena Clark, according to The Washington Post, a Trump ally at the Department of Justice (DOJ) who pushed for investigations into Trump’s claims of election fraud, including efforts in Georgia.

Clark at one point informed his superiors at DOJ that Trump was prepared to install him as acting attorney general following frustration with Rosen and others resisting Justice Department involvement in Trump’s election battles.

The Jan. 3 exchange ended as numerous DOJ officials, including Rosen, threatened to resign, with Trump ultimately deciding against potential blowback from the shake-up.  

Rosen was also slated to appear before the House panel Wednesday, according to Politico.

The investigation into Trump’s interest in DOJ comes as the Senate report suggested the House panel forward its focus on that line of inquiry.

“President Trump’s efforts to enlist DOJ and its leadership in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election were aided by numerous allies with clear ties to the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement and the January 6 insurrection,” the Senate report stated.

Trump told DOJ officials “he and his congressional allies could effectively position themselves to overturn the presidential election results with cover from DOJ, asking DOJ to ‘just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the [Republican] Congressmen,’ ” according to the report.

The senators specifically asked the Jan. 6 committee to further investigate that line of inquiry.

“These ties warrant further investigation to better place Trump’s efforts to enlist DOJ in his efforts to overturn the presidential election in context with the Jan. 6 insurrection,” they wrote in their report.

Then-acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, another participant in the meeting, also recently sat down with the committee.