The New York Times reported Friday that former President Donald Trump allegedly planned with a Justice Department lawyer to oust acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and replace him with an official more inclined to investigate claims of election fraud.
The Washington Post has also reported on the purported plan, in which the lawyer, Jeffrey Clark, head of the department’s Civil Division, would take Rosen’s place.
Rosen had refused to cast doubt on Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia despite Trump’s entreaties.
However, The Times reported top Justice Department officials said they would resign if Trump unseated Rosen for Clark. That, the newspaper said, helped to convince Trump to leave Rosen alone, as he apparently calculated “that a furor over mass resignations at the top of the Justice Department would eclipse” any attention to accusations of voter fraud.
The Times and The Post said their reports were based on interviews with former Trump administration officials who asked not to be named.
Clark has denied the allegations that he plotted to oust Rosen, while Trump has not commented.
