Talks between January 6 committee and former DOJ official, a key witness, remain on ice

By Zachary Cohen, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, CNN

Talks between former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and the House select committee investigating January 6 remain on ice nearly two months after the panel gave him a second chance to appear or face possible contempt charges.

Clark has not heard from the committee since his deposition was delayed in early December but still expects to invoke the Fifth Amendment when that meeting takes place, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN.

The committee moved late last year to hold Clark in contempt of Congress for defying his subpoena but then gave him another opportunity to meet with House investigators. That deposition then was postponed because of a “medical condition” that prevented him from participating.

The committee has been tight-lipped about any plans related to Clark since mid-December, but another source familiar with the investigation tells CNN they expect his appearance to be rescheduled very soon.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters last week that the panel has not yet rescheduled Clark’s deposition because “he’s still sick.”

“He’s had some challenges, and we’re just working through them,” the Mississippi Democrat added.

Committee members have consistently said they consider the former Justice Department official a key witness and have stressed the importance of having him sit for an interview, even if he won’t answer their questions.

As a sympathizer to election fraud conspiracy theories, Clark became then-President Donald Trump‘s most useful asset inside the Justice Department in the days before January 6, 2021.

Clark pushed to pursue unfounded claims of voter fraud in the weeks after the November 2020 election. And, according to officials who interacted with Clark, he was in touch with Trump repeatedly.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.