The special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has interviewed former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen about then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to use the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election, multiple news outlets reported Wednesday.
Then-acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, another participant in the meeting, also sat down with the committee.
The development comes as the panel increasingly focuses on former DOJ officials pressured by Trump to investigate his debunked election claims.
As noted by The Washington Post, “the efforts to speak with 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.”
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According to The Post, the House Select Committee is now preparing to subpoena Clark, 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 The Post.
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.
“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.
The investigation into Trump’s interest in DOJ comes as the Senate report suggested the House panel forward its focus.
