Justice Dept. sues D.C. bar over Jeffrey Clark case

May 14, 2026

Summary

Justice Department sued D.C. bar authorities over a recommendation to disbar Jeffrey Clark over his 2020 election-related actions.

Why this matters

The case tests how far state and local bar authorities can scrutinize legal advice given by federal executive branch officials. It also adds to ongoing legal and political conflicts over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The Justice Department sued Washington’s attorney disciplinary authorities over their recommendation to disbar Jeffrey Clark, a Trump ally, for his actions after the 2020 election.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Board on Professional Responsibility, Court of Appeals, related authorities, and the city, argued that Clark should not face discipline over “internal Executive Branch deliberations.” Clark was an assistant attorney general in 2020.

In a July 2025 recommendation, the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility said Clark “urged Justice Department leadership to issue a letter he had drafted that cast doubt on the election results” after being told his theory was incorrect.

The draft letter, which was never sent, urged Georgia’s legislature to investigate election “irregularities” and, if necessary, appoint electors contrary to the popular vote. The board said the letter was intended as a “proof of concept” for use in several states.

A majority of the board recommended disbarment, but the D.C. Court of Appeals has final authority. Bar records showed Clark remained an attorney in good standing in Washington.

The Justice Department said in the lawsuit: “Defendants are punishing Mr. Clark because he tried to persuade his superiors within the Department of Justice that they should issue a draft letter that he felt reflected the actual law and facts about the 2020 election.” It added, “But D. C. disciplinary authorities may not punish a United States official for disagreeing with a superior or coworker or for sharing an opinion just because those disciplinary authorities disagree with it.”

The lawsuit said disciplining Clark would chill legal advice within the executive branch. Clark wrote on X that the lawsuit “is an important step to vindicate the separation of powers.”

In its recommendation, the board said lawyers must meet “the highest standard of professional conduct. At a minimum, they must be honest.” It said Clark “should be disbarred as a consequence.”

The lawsuit came as the department renewed its focus on the 2020 election, especially in Georgia. It subpoenaed Fulton County for election workers’ personal information, and the FBI opened a criminal investigation into what the department described as irregularities in Fulton County’s handling of the election. Agents searched the county elections office in January and seized election materials.

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Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that Iran was “weeks, a small number of weeks, away to enrich that to weapons-grade uranium.” He added, “There’s still a weaponization process that happens after that, but they’re quite close.”

Wright testified during a hearing on the Energy Department’s atomic energy defense activities and a National Nuclear Security Administration budget request. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked about Iran’s uranium stockpile, how quickly it could be enriched to weapons-grade levels, and whether stopping the threat would require addressing all of Iran’s stockpiles.

Wright said Iran had uranium enriched up to 60% and “a lot of” uranium enriched to 20%, calling that level “very concerning.” Enrichment to about 90% is generally considered weapons-grade, but producing weapons-grade uranium is not the same as building a usable nuclear weapon.

Asked whether President Donald Trump would have to go after all of Iran’s uranium stockpiles to stop enrichment, Wright said, “I think that’s the wise strategy.” He added, “Ultimately, the goal is to prevent future enrichment of uranium as well. Yes, to have a safe world, we need to end their nuclear program.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in February that, based on information Iran provided on June 12, 2025, previous verification work, and operating records, it estimated Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile at 9,874.9 kilograms as of June 13, 2025. That included 184.1 kilograms enriched up to 20% and 440.9 kilograms enriched up to 60%.

But the agency said it could not provide current information on the size, composition, or whereabouts of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile because it lacked access to Iran’s four declared enrichment facilities. It also said it could not determine whether Iran had suspended enrichment-related activities.

Reuters reported Tuesday that the fate of about 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% remained unclear, and that U.S. intelligence assessments suggested Iran’s nuclear program might not be significantly impeded unless that stockpile was removed or destroyed.

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that talks with Iran were making progress, Reuters reported, while the administration’s central test remained whether Tehran could be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
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President Trump said Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their meeting in Beijing to buy U.S. soybeans, energy and Boeing jets.

According to Fox News, Trump told host Sean Hannity that Xi also committed to helping the United States with Iran and agreed to buy U.S. oil, liquefied natural gas, and other energy products. Trump said Xi also agreed that China would purchase 200 Boeing 737 jets.

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Trump and Xi met for 2 hours and 15 minutes Thursday, according to the White House press pool.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States and China agreed the Strait of Hormuz should not be “militarized,” as Iran kept the waterway closed despite a ceasefire in its war with the U.S. and Israel.

Rubio, who traveled with President Donald Trump for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, told NBC News the United States had not asked China for help with Iran. Rubio has been under Chinese sanctions since 2020.

“The Chinese side said they are not in favor of militarizing the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position,” Rubio told NBC News’ Tom Llamas in Beijing. “We will never support an Iranian tolling system in the Straits of Hormuz, nor do we think they have a right to put mines in international waters.”

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A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was seized and taken toward Iran, and an Indian-flagged cargo ship was attacked and sank off Oman, authorities said Thursday, in a renewed escalation near the Strait of Hormuz.

The British military said the seized vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah, a UAE port near the Strait of Hormuz, and was heading toward Iranian waters. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center did not identify the ship and said it was investigating.

Indian authorities said the cargo ship Haji Ali sank after an attack sparked a fire aboard the vessel Wednesday as it traveled from Somalia to Sharjah, another UAE port. Mukesh Mangal, a senior official in India’s shipping ministry, said all 14 Indian crew members were rescued by Oman’s coast guard and were safe.

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The networking equipment company said it was reducing headcount to change its “cost structure” and invest in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Cisco’s move follows layoffs at other tech companies that have pointed to AI spending as a priority.

Cisco also said it planned to invest more in cybersecurity as it continued to address security vulnerabilities in its routers and firewalls that allowed hackers to access the networks of corporate customers, including the U.S. government. The company also disclosed a data breach last year that affected customers’ personal information.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Chief Executive Chuck Robbins highlighted the company’s “record revenue” and “double-digit growth,” while saying Cisco was making strategic investments “in our employees’ use of AI across the company.”

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Polish defense officials said a canceled U.S. Army tank brigade rotation to Poland was tied to a broader Pentagon plan to adjust forces in Europe, not a change in policy toward Poland.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Marcin Kosiniak-Kamysz said late Thursday that halting the deployment of a Fort Hood, Texas-based brigade was linked to a U.S. decision to reduce troop levels in Germany.

“This issue does not concern Poland — it relates to the previously announced change in the presence of some U. S. Armed Forces in Europe. The rapidly developing capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces and the presence of U.S. forces in Poland strengthen NATO’s eastern flank,” he said on X.

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk also said the decision was connected to planned cuts elsewhere.

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Senators unanimously passed a resolution to withhold their pay during future government shutdowns, after recent closures left many federal workers without pay.

The measure, pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., applies only to senators. It directs the secretary of the Senate to withhold lawmakers’ pay during a shutdown and release it once the government reopens.

“Last October, we shut down the government for 43 days. That is the longest shutdown in history. And we had FBI agents, national park rangers, CDC scientists, our staff here in Congress — nobody was getting paid,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor.

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Netanyahu says Israel will sue New York Times

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Israel said Thursday it would pursue a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times over a column by Nicholas Kristof that detailed rape allegations by Palestinian detainees against Israeli forces.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar “have instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.” Israel had earlier called the report “blood libel.” On Thursday, it said the article contained “the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press, which also received the backing of the newspaper.”

Kristof’s article, published three days earlier in the opinion section, was based on accounts from 14 Palestinian men and women. It cited a U.N. commission report presented last year that said sexual violence had become “standard operating procedures” and “a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians” by Israel’s security apparatus. It also cited a Committee to Protect Journalists report that found nearly a third of Palestinian journalists detained by Israel reported sexual violence.

A New York Times spokesperson, Charlie Stadtlander, said Wednesday that the article was a “deeply reported piece of opinion journalism.”

He said the accounts were corroborated with other witnesses, when possible, and with people victims had confided in, including family members and lawyers. “Details were extensively fact-checked, with accounts further cross-referenced with news reporting, independent research from human-rights groups, surveys and in one case, the UN testimony,” he said on X.

Further details of the planned lawsuit were not immediately available.

Netanyahu said last year he was examining whether a country could sue The New York Times after a separate report on starvation in Gaza. On Thursday, he said the case would also serve a broader purpose. “Under my leadership, Israel will not be silent,” he wrote on X. “We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law.”
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