Further, where “the opinion in question relates to whether, how, and to what extent to exercise the President’s or the Department’s law enforcement authorities under the President’s supervision, it is also subject to the law enforcement privilege,” Meese concluded. Not only was Clark acting within the “color of his office,” Clark’s conduct in drafting the letter and advocating for it to be sent to the Georgia legislature was protected by numerous privileges, including the executive and deliberate process privileges. “In short, taking positions on legal issues relating to the conduct of the 2020 election and consideration of whether to pursue the policy option inherent in the alleged draft letter were not strictly off limits or out of bounds for Mr.

In fact, “Clark directly supervised 2020 election-related controversies in his capacity as Acting AAG of the Civil Division,” Meese noted.

Thus, as Meese concluded, Clark’s status as an acting assistant attorney general in the Civil Division did not prevent the president from assigning him other duties, including those related to election issues. “And, of course,” Meese continued, “the Attorney General reports to the President, which means the President has discretion to assign duties to the AAGs as the President sees fit.” Meese’s affidavit eviscerated these arguments, citing the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion that concluded assistant attorneys general are “not limited to any one Division of the Department of Justice or any specific set of duties,” but instead can “be moved from heading most Divisions to instead heading most other Divisions at the discretion of the Attorney General.” argues Clark was not acting “under color of office” because Clark’s supervisors told Clark that sending the letter would be outside the scope of authority of the DOJ and stated that Clark and his Civil Division had no role in election issues. The criminal case against Clark rests on his supposed attempt “to make a false statement or writing by composing and attempting to send a letter falsely claiming the Department of Justice had ‘identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.’”Ĭlark drafted that letter, presented it to his bosses, and advocated for it to his bosses and to then-President Trump while serving as an acting assistant attorney general of the United States. Whether Judge Jones erred in rejecting Meadows’ attempt to remove the criminal case - a question the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide soon on an expedited basis - removal by Clark presents an entirely different equation. In remanding the case to state court, Jones reasoned that “Meadows’s alleged association with post-election activities,” detailed in the criminal indictment, “was not related to his role as White House Chief of Staff or his executive branch authority.” The federal judge stressed, however, “that its determination on Meadows’s notice of removal and its jurisdiction over his criminal prosecution does not, at this time, have any effect on the outcome of the other co-Defendants who have filed notices,” which, among others, includes Clark, who faces off against Willis’ legal team later Monday morning. 8, 2023, Judge Jones rejected Meadows’ attempt to remove the criminal case to federal court, remanding the case instead to the Fulton County Superior Court. That statute, which is codified at § 1442(a)(1), provides that a “criminal prosecution that is commenced in a State court” against an “officer” of the United States or any federal agency may “remove” the case to a federal court if the prosecution is “for or relating to any act under color of such office…” While federal courts in nearly all circumstances lack “jurisdiction” or the power to hear a case involving the state’s prosecution of an alleged violation of the state’s criminal code, the “federal officer removal statute” provides an exception to that rule. Soon after Fulton County’s get-Trump prosecutor Fani Willis announced the charges, Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Clark, and three alternate presidential electors for Trump sought to “remove” the criminal case from the state court to a federal district court.

That indictment charged the defendants with various supposed crimes related to “alleged postelection interference with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.” A little over a month ago, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, returned a sprawling indictment against 19 defendants, including former President Donald Trump.

London sun edwin meese gun