{"id":2602720,"date":"2026-05-14T13:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-doj-challenges-leftist-barfare-with-lawsuit-targeting-jeff-clarks-dc-persecutors\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:25:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:25:01","slug":"trump-doj-challenges-leftist-barfare-with-lawsuit-targeting-jeff-clarks-dc-persecutors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-doj-challenges-leftist-barfare-with-lawsuit-targeting-jeff-clarks-dc-persecutors\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Challenges \u2018Barfare\u2019 By Suing Jeff Clark\u2019s DC Persecutors"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-doj-challenges-leftist-barfare-with-lawsuit-targeting-jeff-clarks-dc-persecutors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602720&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Trump-era U.S. Department of Justice is suing Washington, D.C.\u2019s bar disciplinary authorities, arguing they used attorney discipline to retaliate against political opponents-specifically citing former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. DOJ claims the process unlawfully \u201cchilled\u201d federal officials\u2019 candor and advocacy, violating the Supremacy Clause and Article II by improperly regulating the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>The suit says the D.C. Bar charged Clark in 2022 over alleged dishonesty and interference with justice after senators provided a report and chairman Dick Durbin warned Clark\u2019s conduct could be professional misconduct. Clark is described as having drafted (but ultimately not sent) a Georgia letter raising election-integrity concerns, then facing years of efforts to strip his license.<\/p>\n<p>DOJ also points to broader examples of alleged politicization, including the treatment of other legal figures such as Edward Martin Jr., and references to the D.C. Bar\u2019s handling of cases it says show inconsistent standards-such as,comparing punishment outcomes involving Clark and convicted former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith. The complaint further cites the online conduct of an attorney leading the campaign as evidence of bias,and portrays these disciplinary actions as part of a nationwide pattern of legal \u201cactivists\u201d using state or local bar systems against ideological enemies.<\/p>\n<p>the DOJ argues D.C. disciplinary entities are attempting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-hands-trump-admin-a-major-victory-over-gavin-newsom-in-ice-battle\/\" title=\"Appeals ... Hands Trump Admin a Major Victory Over Gavin Newsom in ICE Battle\">regulate federal officials<\/a> through viewpoint- and politics-based discipline, beyond what constitutional authority permits.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Trump Department of Justice advanced its defense against leftist \u201cbarfare\u201d on Wednesday by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-files-complaint-against-dc-bar-disciplinary-authorities-over-their\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suing<\/a> the Washington D.C. Bar disciplinary entities that spent years trying to ruin the lives and careers of their political enemies, including Trump-era DOJ official Jeffrey Clark.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1440681\/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">48-page complaint<\/a> outlines in detail how D.C. Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton P. Fox III, the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), and the D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility\u00a0weaponized the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legal licensing punitive process<\/a> to unlawfully \u201cchill the<br \/>zealous advocacy and candor of Federal officials\u201d like Clark simply because they disagree with him politically. <\/p>\n<p>Doing so, the DOJ argues, violates the Supremacy Clause and Article II of the U.S. Constitution \u201cby unlawfully regulating and discriminating against the Federal Government and interfering with Executive Branch functions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cD.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,\u201d the suit states. <\/p>\n<p>The D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility initially charged Clark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/22111902-jeffrey-clark-specification-of-charges-from-dc-bar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in July 2022<\/a> with \u201cattempted \u2026 conduct involving dishonesty\u201d and \u201cattempted \u2026 conduct that would seriously interfere with the administration of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigation seemingly stemmed from a report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Interim%20Staff%20Report%20FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleging<\/a> Clark played a key role in a plot to \u201cwield [the] DOJ\u2019s power to override the already-certified popular vote\u201d when he <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/02\/obama-judge-rejects-removal-of-fulton-county-case-to-federal-court-where-jeff-clark-could-get-a-fair-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drafted<\/a> a letter to Georgia officials noting the DOJ \u201cidentified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the [2020] election in multiple States\u201d including the Peach State. Clark ultimately chose not to send the letter after objections from his DOJ superiors and a pivot from the president. Yet, the Bar pursued a years-long crusade to strip him of his legal license.<\/p>\n<p>The chief counsel for oversight on the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee forwarded the 394-page document to ODC Counsel Fox in October 2021, months before the bar acted. The report was accompanied by a letter from Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin who declared that Clark\u2019s actions \u201cmay constitute serious professional misconduct under the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawfare didn\u2019t stop there. Democrats also named Clark as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/01\/jeffrey-clarks-lawyers-demand-fani-willis-grotesque-abuse-of-prosecutorial-power-be-dismissed-over-lack-of-personal-jurisdiction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">19 \u201cco-conspirator\u201d targets<\/a> in their wide-ranging Georgia election indictment and the FBI even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oQaPLkKgYZY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">raided his house<\/a>, despite the fact that he never committed a crime.<\/p>\n<p>Clark fought against the DC Bar for years, but his defense was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/04\/biden-admin-withholds-election-integrity-documents-key-to-jeff-clarks-dc-bar-defense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stonewalled<\/a> by the Biden administration. He found some relief when the D.C. Court of Appeals <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/26\/in-big-victory-against-lawfare-dc-court-of-appeals-smacks-down-jeff-clark-subpoena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> in February 2024 that Clark did not have to comply with a DC Bar subpoena that would have deprived him of his Fifth Amendment rights. Not even that, however, stopped the ODC from <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/29\/documents-show-dc-bar-skirted-its-own-rules-and-due-process-to-target-jeff-clark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skirting its own rules and due process<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/26\/political-retribution-former-ags-slam-dc-bars-dangerous-crusade-against-jeff-clark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ignoring legal professionals\u2019<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/01\/exclusive-amicus-brief-asks-dc-court-to-end-unethical-un-american-persecution-of-jeff-clark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warnings<\/a> to recommend that Clark be <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/01\/d-c-bar-recommends-punishing-trump-doj-lawyer-jeff-clark-for-unsent-letter-about-georgia-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">punished<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/corrupt-dc-bar-moves-to-disbar-jeff-clark-after-restoring-license-of-russiagate-felon-kevin-clinesmith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disbarred<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as the United States is aware, Defendants have never punished a non-Federal Government attorney for drafting or attempting to disseminate a deliberative and pre-decisional draft document, or in any comparable circumstance,\u201d the DOJ writes.<\/p>\n<p>Much like former Attorneys General William Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Michael Mukasey noted in their September 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/boydengray.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-25-Amicus-Brief-of-Former-AGs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amicus brief<\/a> supporting Clark, the DOJ cites the ODC\u2019s reinstatement of convicted felon and former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/12\/17\/dc-bar-restores-convicted-fbi-russiagate-forger-while-hes-still-serving-probation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">while he was still on probation<\/a> as proof that the DC Bar is captured by politicization. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefendants imposed a harsher punishment on Mr. Clark than on Mr. Clinesmith even though Mr. Clinesmith suborned the unlawful surveillance of an American citizen in violation of the Fourth Amendment,\u201d the DOJ writes. <\/p>\n<p>To add to the argument, the DOJ emphasizes that one of the attorneys leading the partisan disbarment campaign against former Trump-era Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark \u201cposted dozens of ideological messages\u201d criticizing \u201cTrump judges,\u201d calling Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito a \u201cnatural born fool,\u201d and that \u201cevery Justice except [Justice] Jackson is dead to [him].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ points to Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Jack Metzler\u2019s online activity, including his solicitation of \u201capplications to join the Office of Disciplinary Counsel\u201d on the same social media page, as an example of the \u201cbrazen partisan behavior\u201d and \u201cbias and poor judgment\u201d that afflicts the ODC.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Clark isn\u2019t the only victim of the DC Bar. The DOJ also notes that the ODC went after former interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Edward Martin, Jr. \u201con the theory that he violated his oath to support the U.S. Constitution\u201d for <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/12\/trump-doj-is-finally-taking-on-the-corrupt-dc-bar-association\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questioning Georgetown University Law School\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/education-insanity-top-10-stories-of-the-week-vol-13\/\" title=\"Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 13)\">race-based teaching<\/a><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ claims that the DC Bar\u2019s persecution of Clark and Martin follows a nationwide pattern of \u201cpartisans,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/tom-steyer-proponent-of-impeaching-trump-pushescampaign-to-disbar-attorney-general\/2019\/05\/03\/763ee6e2-6dc4-11e9-9d56- 1c0cf2c7ac04_story.html.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cprogressive activists,\u201d<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/03\/07\/trump-election-lawyers-disbar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201clegal activist groups\u201d<\/a> publicly threatening to weaponize the legal licensing system against their political enemies. One such example included in the lawsuit is former FBI Special Agent Michael Feinberg celebrating the California Bar <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/california-bar-strips-john-eastman-of-livelihood-for-representing-a-client-with-views-it-dislikes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disbarment<\/a> of John Eastman for representing a client with views it dislikes and warning that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche \u201cshould watch his step.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Watch as a former FBI agent threatens the Acting Attorney General on MSNOW, saying:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Todd Blanche should watch his step,&#8221; or get disbarred, like John Eastman.<\/p>\n<p>Something has to be done about these out-of-control state and local bars \u2014 and the Deep State weaponizers trying to\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NesWxM0fgZ\">pic.twitter.com\/NesWxM0fgZ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffClarkUS\/status\/2051324471944815068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDefendants are unlawfully attempting to regulate the Federal Government by leveraging the disciplinary process against Federal Government attorneys vis-\u00e0-vis other Federal Government attorneys differentially based on factors other than the disinterested administration of justice, like viewpoint and political affiliation,\u201d the lawsuit concludes. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jordan Boyd is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-cruelty-is-the-point-folks\/\" title=\"The Cruelty Is the Point, Folks\">award-winning staff writer<\/a> at The Federalist and producer of \u201cThe Federalist Radio Hour.\u201d Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The DOJ sued D.C. bar officials over alleged politicized efforts to ruin Jeffrey Clark\u2019s career and silence advocacy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":2602721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7076,32119,38298,36911,37612],"class_list":["post-2602720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doj","tag-election-interference","tag-federal-court","tag-jeff-clark","tag-legal-challenge"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602720"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602724,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602720\/revisions\/2602724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}