Exclusive: Tom Cotton — AG Merrick Garland Must Fire Top DOJ Official Kristen Clarke: ‘Lying to Congress Under Oath Is a Felony’
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland must immediately fire Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke after she committed perjury during her Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and nine of his colleagues demand in a Friday letter that Breitbart News exclusively obtained.
Cotton and crew “call for Ms. Clarke’s immediate termination and removal from office” in light of revelations that Clarke lied under oath and made efforts to cover up a past arrest during her confirmation fight in 2021.
“During her nomination to her current role, Ms. Clarke was asked if she had ‘ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person,’” the letter reads. “Ms. Clarke was unequivocal, responding under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, ‘No.’”
“That was a lie.”
The letter continues, “Ms. Clarke has now admitted that she was arrested in 2006 for attacking and injuring someone with a knife. It has also recently come to light that, shortly before the full Senate voted on her nomination, Ms. Clarke and her publicist contacted the man she attacked in an attempt to cover up her false testimony.”
Cotton Letter to Garland by Breitbart News on Scribd
Clarke offered an exclusive statement to leftwing CNN in May — seeking to counter criticism against her — in which she admitted she had been arrested but argued that she was not required to disclose that fact because the arrest was later expunged.
“Clarke acknowledged that she was arrested in her statement on Wednesday but said the arrest was expunged – meaning it was removed from her record and no longer exists – and that she wasn’t required to disclose it,” that report reads.
An expungement is a civil action and is not a pardon. Records that have been expunged are “destroyed or sealed,” according to Black’s Law Dictionary, in a manner that blocks the public from accessing them or verifying their existence. Multiple justifications exist for expungement by a judge.
Cotton and his cosigners insist that, despite what happened after the arrest, Clarke lied about being arrested, committing perjury.
“Lying to Congress under oath is a felony,” Cotton writes.
Cotton further presses Garland, using his own statement before the committee.
“The last time you were before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you said, ‘The integrity of our legal system is premised on adherence to the rule of law. In order to have confidence in our Department and in everything that we do.’ Ms. Clarke does not meet this standard and must be immediately terminated.”
Garland himself is under scrutiny. The House of Representatives held him in contempt in June for refusing to comply with Congressional subpoenas.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Chuck Grassley (R-IO), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Kennedy (R-LA), and John Cornyn (R-TX) cosigned the letter with Cotton.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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