but why jeff clark? let's hear mr. giuliani explain the kind of person that he and the president wanted at the top of justice. >> i don't remember ever recommending to anybody that mr. clark, meaning jeffrey clark at doj, be given election related responsibilities. >> you mean beyond the president? >> correct. >> beyond the president, i do recall saying to people that somebody should be put in charge of the dust -- justice department who is not frightened of what's going to be done to their reputation. just from people like that. >> you should put somebody that's not afraid of what's gonna be done to their reputation. >> the justice department was going to be used to throw out the election results and keep trump in power. you would need somebody to do that who was unafraid about the effect on their reputation. thank you for that testimonial, mr. giuliani. also, bill holder jeff clark. >> when he finished discussing what he planned on doing, i said, good. -- sorry. and a whole, congratulations. you just admitted your fir

clark but for our witnesses jeff rosen and mr. donnahue. when it became clear neither would sign the letter, president trump's plan would change. mr. clark was offered the job of acting attorney general, replacing mr. rosen, with the understanding that clark would send this letter to georgia and other states and take other actions the president requested. one other point -- millions of americans have seen the testimony of attorney general barr before this committee. at one point in his deposition, the former attorney general was asked why he authorized the department of justice to investigate fraud in the 2020 election at all, why not just follow the regular course of action and let the investigations occur much later in time, after january 6th? here's what he said -- >> felt the responsible thing to do was to be in a position to have a view as to whether or not there was fraud and, frankly, i think the fact that i put myself in the position that i could say that we had looked at this and didn't think there was fraud was really important to

jeff clark to take over. >> mr. rosen, after a call with president trump on december 24th, you spoke with mr. clark on december 26 about his contact with the president. can you tell us about that conversation? >> yes. because i had been quizzical about why his name had come up, i called him. i tried to explore if he would chair if there was something that i ought to know. after back and forth, he acknowledged that shortly before christmas he had gone to a meeting in the oval office with the president. that of course surprised me. and i asked him how did that happen. he was defensive. he said has it been unplanned that he had been talking to someone he referred to as general perry, but i believe is congressman perry. unbeknownst to him, he was asked to go to a meeting. he found himself at the oval office and he was apologetic for that. i said, well you didn't tell me about it. it wasn't authorized and you didn't tell me after the fact, this is not appropriate. but he was contrite. he said it had been inadvertent and w

jeff clark. i thought the proposal was asinine. >> what were clark's purported basis for why it was in the presidents interest for him to step in, but would he do? how would things change, according to mr. clark in the meeting? >> he repeatedly said to the president that if he would put in the sea human conduct wheel investigations that would, in his view, uncover widespread fraud. he would send out a letter that he had drafted and that this was a last opportunity to set this definitive election into action. he could do it, he had the intelligence and the will and the desire to pursue these matters in the way that the president thought most appropriate. >> he was making a pitch, every time he would get clobbered over the head. he would, like, say call to order, president into your decision. you have a chance to make this decision. you've heard everyone, you can make you determination. we would jump back in. really clobber him. >> i think the point that jeff clarke would not even be competent to p

he said something to the effect of i think jeff clark is great and i think he's the kind of guy that can get in there and do something about this stuff. this is coming on the heels of the president having mentioned mr. clark in the afternoon call earlier that day. >> i'd like to yield to the gentle woman from wyoming, vice chair cheney. >> as we discussed at the center of mr. clark's plan to undue the president's election law was a letter. mr. clark e-mailed you and a draft letter he wanted you to sign and to send to georgia state fishes. you testified that this could have grave constitutional consequences. mr. donahue, can you tell us what you meant by that? >> well, i had to read both the e-mail and the attached letter twice to make sure that i really understood what he was proposing because it was so extreme to me, i had a hard time getting my head around it initially. i read it. i understood it for what he intended. i had to sit down and compose what i thought was an appropriate response. i initially went next door to the acting a.g.'s office but he was not there. we were both on

jeff clark. i thought the proposal was asinine. >> what were clark's purported basis for why it was in the presidents interest for him to step in, but would he do? how would things change, according to mr. clark in the meeting? >> he repeatedly said to the president that if he would put in the sea human conduct wheel investigations that would, in his view, uncover widespread fraud. he would send out a letter that he had drafted and that this was a last opportunity to set this definitive election into action. he could do it, he had the intelligence and the will and the desire to pursue these matters in the way that the president thought most appropriate. >> he was making a pitch, every time he would get clobbered over the head. he would, like, say call to order, president into your decision. you have a chance to make this decision. you've heard everyone, you can make you determination. we would jump back in. really clobber him. >> i think the point that jeff clarke would not even be competent to p

but why jeff clark? let's hear mr. t he and the president wanted tat top of justice. >> do you remember recommending to anybody that mr. clark, meaning jeffrey clark at doj, be given election related responsibilities? >> you mean, beyond the president? >> correct. beyond the president, i do recall saying to people that somebody should be put in charge of the justice department who isn't frightened of what's going to be done to their reputation. umm, because justice was filled with people like that. >> should put somebody that's not frightened of what's going to be done to their reputation. mr. donahue, when you told the president that you wouldn't pursue baseless claims of fraud, is it because you were worried about your reputation? >> no, not at all. >> mr. clark's name was also mentioned in the white house in late december and early january, as described by a top aide to mark meadows, cassidy hutchison. >> mr. rosen, after a call with president trump on december 24th, you spoke with mr. clark on december 26th about hi

he says something to the effect of i think jeff clark is great and i think he is the kind of guy to get in there and do something about this stuff. this was coming on the heels of the president having mentioned mr. clark in the afternoon call earlier that day. >> i would like to yield to the gentlewoman from wyoming. >> thank you very much. i think the gentleman for yielding. as we discussed earlier, at the center of mr. clark's plan to undo president trump's selection loss, was a letter. mr. donahue, on december 28th, mr. clark emailed you and mr. rosen a draft letter that he wanted you to sign and send to georgia state officials. you testified that this could have grave constitutional consequences. can you tell us what you meant by that? >> i had to read both emails in the attached letter twice to make sure i really understood what he was proposing. it was so extreme to me, i had a hard time getting my head around it. i read it and i did understand it for what he intended. and i had to sit down and serve , compose what that was an appropriate response. i went next door to the acting i

. >> jeff clark was proposing that jeff rosen be replaced by jeff clark, and i thought the proposal was as nine. >> and i said, that's right, you're an environmental lawyer. how about you go back to your office and we'll call you when there's an oil spill? >> i thought jeff's proposal was nuts. he's a guy -- at a certain point, the best i can tell is the only thing you know about environmental and elections challenges is they both start with "e," and based on your answers tonight i'm not sure you know that. >> among lawyers that is considered a sick burn. but this is more than a battle of lawyers or battle of jeffs or a battle of different people loyal to donald trump. what this turned into was a battle to stop donald trump from installing allies and coup plotters inside the justice department. coups are illegal. felonies are investigated. and that brings us to the other big news breaking today that the fbi just conducted a search of clark's home. a source telling "the new york times" it was a predawn raid. a doj official testifying that he had to explain to the president just how dange

. -- jeff clark was the -- proposing that jeff rosen be replaced by jeff clark and i thought the proposal. >> what were clark's reported basing on why it was in the president classifies interest for him to step in. >> he said to the president that if he was put in the sea, he will put -- conduct real investigations that would uncover widespread fraud and he would send out the letters he drafted and this was a last opportunity to sort of set things straight with this deceptive election and that he could do it and he had the intelligence and the will and the desire to pursue these matters in the way that the president felt was most appropriate. >> and he was making up each and every time he would clobbered over the head, he would call to order the president, it is your decision. you have the chance to make this decision and you have heard everyone and you can make a determination and we jump back in. >> had made the point that jeff clark is not even promised to serve as the attorney general. he has never conducted a criminal investigation in his life. he kind of retorted by saying i have do

jeff clark, to take over the department of justice. >> mr. , after your call with president trump on december 24, you spoke with mr. clark on december 26 about his contact with the president. can you tell us about that conversation? >> yes. because i had been quizzical about why his name had come up, i called him and i tried to explore if he would share if there was something i ought to know. and after some back and forth, he acknowledged that shortly before christmas, he had gone to a meeting in the oval office with the president. that, of course, surprised me and i asked him how did that happen. and he was defensive. he said it had been unplanned, that he had been talking to someone he referred to as general perry, but i believe is congressman perry. and that unbeknownst to him, he was asked to go to a meeting and he didn't know it, but it turned out it was at the oval -- he found himself at the oval office. and he was apologetic for that. and i said, well, you didn't tell me about it. it wasn't authorized, and you didn't even tell me after

was proposing, that jeff rosen be replaced by jeff clark. and, i thought the proposal was asinine. >> what were clark's purported bases for why it was in the president's best interest for him to step in. what things changed according to mr. clark in the meeting? >> he repeatedly said to the president that if he was put in the seat he would conduct real investigations, that would come in his view, uncover widespread fraud. he would send out the letter that he had drafted, and, this was the last opportunity to set things straight with this defective election. and that, he had the intelligence, the will, and the desire to pursue these matters in the way the president felt was most appropriate. >> betsy, is there any evidence on the record that any of these people thought about coming forward in real time? thought about going ahead and doing the resignation, doing something dramatic to alert the american people to this plot ahead of time? >> what we know is that the news about this meeting that happened in the white house leaked out fairly quick

did you call jeff clark? >> mr. donahue, representative perry called you the next day on december 27th. who told him to call you? >> my understanding is the president did it. during the call perry told me that he was calling up behest of the president. >> what did he want to talk about? >> he wanted to talk about pennsylvania, in particular. he gave me some background about why he, in particular, does not trust the fbi. one of the american people don't necessarily trust the fbi. he went into some allegations, specific to pennsylvania which included, amongst others, this allegation that the secretary of state had certified more votes than were actually cast. >> the new direct the local u.s. attorney's office to investigate that claim? >> mr. perry said he had a great deal of information. investigations had been done. there was some sort of forensic type report that would be helpful to me. i did not know congressman perry, had never heard of him before the conversation. i said, sir, if you think something that is rele

but, why jeff clark? let's hear mr. justice. >> i don't member ever recommending that mr. clark, make meaning jeffrey clark, doj, be given election related responsibility. sibility. >> you mean beyond the president? >> correct. >> correct. >> beyond the president, i do recall saying to people that somebody should be put in charge of the justice department. who isn't frightened of what will be done to the reputation. because judgment would instill people like that. >> should put somebody that is not frightened of what will be done to the reputation. when you told the president that you wouldn't pursue baseless claims of fraud, was it because you were rated by reputation? >> no. not at all. >> mr. clark's name was also mentioned in the white house in late december and early january as described by a top aide to mark meadows, cassidy hutchison. [ inaudible ] inaudible ] >> after your call with president trump on december 24th, you spoke with mr. clark on december 26th about his contact with the president. can you tell us a

rosen, to send jeff clark to fulton county -- what did you do with this request? well, really nothing. certainly didn't send mr. clark to fulton county. but that email was the first corroboration i had seen of -- mr. clark had told me at that point, that the president was considering making the change by monday, january 4th. so, mr. meadows email with something of a corroboration, that the discussions going on had i had not been informed about from mr. clocked by anybody else. >> i tuesday's hearing, we learned that mark meadows traveled to georgia on december 22nd, 2020. showing up at a signature audit site, where he met secretary raffensperger's chief investigator, francis watson, who was supervising that audit process and then donald trump called francis watson and tried to influence her. joining us now is stacey abrams, democratic nominee from for governor of georgia. thank you very much for joining us tonight. georgia, your state, essential to this investigation, with donald trump thinking about sending jeffrey clark there, making the phone call to the secret

people at the top by inserting jeff clark. that, and then, essentially, the principal that those other, such as rosen and donoghue had, to stand up and essentially say, we are not doing that , and if you do this and try to put him, we are all going to resign. so the impact that that had. and then, you know, secondly, another piece of it is, you know, this information about what other members of congress did. it's pretty straightforward. i think adam can figure said this especially during the hearing. if you don't request a parting, if you don't think you committed a crime, and the fact that, you know, we heard from witnesses under oath that this, in fact, took place, you know, it's very damning, and it really confirms that whole thing, like, leave it up to me and the republican congressmen. who are the republican congress men? i think that what we learn from witnesses, that's all becoming even more clear than it was before. >> i remember, i think it's what he said to president zelenskyy in that phone conversation years ago whe

if he knew, we also brought the four of us in, no one else aside from jeff clark knew it was going onuntil late that sunday afternoon. we chose to keep a close hold, because we did not want to create concern or panic in the justice department leadership. at this point, the i asked the acting ag would else i could do to help prepare for this meeting at the oval office, he said you and pat should get the ag on the phone, it is time to let them know what is going on. let's find out what they may do, if there is a change in leadership. that will help inform the conversation at the oval office. pat hovakimian, consequently set up that meeting, we got most of the ags on the phone, and very quickly explain to them with the situation was, i told them that i do not need an whatever it is, if you know what you would do, if jeff clarke is put in charge of the department. immediately, eric drive-in, who is the ag of then't need to think about it, there is no way that i am staying. and the other ags became to chime in, in turn, essentially said that they would leave. they would resign in mass, if

and lawful electoral votes for biden. acting deputy attorney general richard donahue described jeff clark's letter this way. quote, this would be a grave step for the department to take and could have tremendous constitutional political and social ramifications for this country. the committee agrees with mr. donahue. assessment had clark assumed the role of attorney general in the days before january 6th and issued these letters the ramifications could indeed have been grave. mr donahue also said this about clark's plan and i recall to begin saying what your proposal you nothing left in the united states just to support and meddling the upcoming presidential election. in our hearings, you will hear 1st hand at the senior leadership of the department of justice threatened to resign at the white house council threatened to resign and how they confronted donald trump and jeff clark in the oval office. the men involved, including acting attorney general, jeff rosen, and acting deputy attorney general. richard donahue were appointed by president trump. these men honored their oath of office, the

jeff clark did not commit any crime. did wrong was calling for an investigation into voter fraud. we are happy to have jeff clark join us now. he is a senior fellow for new england america. thank you so much for joining us. this is almost, this is soviet account, really. tell us what happened and why. >> it is come and go dbe here, took her. yesterday 7:00 a.m., there was loud, insistent banging at my door so i rushed out as fast as i could come i quickly figured out that there were agents there, i opened the door and asked for the courtesy to be able to put some pants on and was told no, you've got to come outside, so i came outside, they swept the house and eventually let me go back inside and put the pants on. and then by my count at one point, twelve agents and two fairfax county police officers went into my house, searched it for three and a half hours. they even brought along something i've never seen before or heard of. an electronic sniffing dog. and they took all of the electronics from my house i don't blame th

it's going to be the disaster of jeff clark. think that, point pat cipollone said, yeah, this is a murder suicide pact, this letter. >> and a lot has changed since then, especially for mr. clark. we found out today that federal agents searched clark suburban virginia home yesterday morning. and another bombshell from today's hearing. the committee revealed republican lawmakers who allegedly sought presidential pardons. they were among the most outspoken supporters of his false claims of election fraud. >> are you aware of any members of congress that [inaudible] >> mr. gaetz and mr. brooks, i know, both advocated for there to be a blanket pardon. mr. gaetz was personally pushing for a pardon. and he was doing so since early december. >> you mentioned mr. gaetz and mr. books -- >> mr. biggs did, mr. ask for one as well. >> [inaudible] asked for a pardon to. >> congress -- tonight, mo brooks said, he did talk to trump about them. he's also open to testify before the committee. but he insists on doing it in public. with that, let's

note too, congressman, that it was in this part of the conversation where steve pointed out that jeff clark would be left leading a graveyard. >> the optics of this, this mass departure from the justice department, stopped donald trump from going through this sort of coup he was planning, but there was other evidence that stood out. you mentioned the handwritten notes by richard donoghue, he says he just wants the then president trump wanted them to say the election was corrupt and leave the rest up to him and the republican congressmen. we also learned more about the pardons, we have seen members of this committee sort of tease they were going to put more information forth about the republican lawmakers who sought pardons, they named a whole lot of names in the hearing yesterday, people like matt gaetz, mo brooks, louie gohmert, marjorie taylor greene, a number of these folks said they didn't actually seek pardons or you're misunderstanding what was going on here, the committee says they have the proof. back to you. >> sara murray, thank you for all of that reporting, really significant da

by jeff clark. and i thought the proposal was asinine. >> what were clark's purported bases for why it was in the president's interest for him to step in? what would he do? how would things change, according to mr. clark in the meeting? >> he repeatedly said to the president that if he was put in the seat, he would conduct real investigations that would, in his view, uncover widespread fraud. he would send out the letter that he had drafted. and that this was a last opportunity to sort of set things straight with this defective election. and that he could do it and he had the intelligence and the will and the desire to pursue these matters in the way that the president thought most appropriate. >> and he was making a pitch and every time he would get clobbered over the head, he would, like, say, like, you know, well, call to order, it's the president's decision, you get the chance to make this decision, and you've heard everybody and you can make your determination. and we jump back in and, you know

i said, sir, i would resign immediately, there is no way i'm serving one minute under this guy, jeff clarke january 6th committee turns its spotlight on jeffrey clarke, the critical figure in trump's corrupt plot to put the parameter on his fake elector scheme. also tonight, trump is not happy with kevin mccarthy because the january 6th hearings are completely devoid of clowning, trolling and disruptions that trump was counting on for his attempted coup. i have a special guest, cherelle griner and the wife of basketball star britney griner who has been held in russia for four months. we begin with the january 6th committee hearings which most people can agree have been extremely substantive. so much so that they're going on longer than we thought. chairman bennie thompson said today that the committee received so much new information on the tip line that he's been promoting during each of the previous hearings that after tomorrow additional hearings will be held in july. >> one of the latest developments, never before seen footage subpoenaed from the committee from a documentary filmmaker w

rosen with him, jeff clark. what do you do and i said, sir, i would resign immediately. there's no way i'm serving man minute under this guy, jeff clark. >> today's hearing will be the last until july. the committee says it needs more time to consider new evidence. that includes hours of unseen footage from a documentary from a film maker named alex holder the film maker is expected to testify before the committee today behind closed doors. phillip? >> all right, chris, thank you and special coverage of today's hearings will begin right here on nbc at 3:00 p.m. eastern. >>> robb elementary school, the scene of last month's horrific school shooting will be demolished the mayor of uvalde, texas said he did not believe any student or teacher should have to return thayer he also expressed anger and frustration over difficulty getting answers. and accusing some of lies, leaks and misstated information. >> everybody in that hall needs to answer what went on in that hall not just arredondo, but the u.s. marshals need t

by contrast, jeff clark is invoked his 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to testify. representative scott perry who is also involved in trying to get clark appointed as attorney general has refused to testify here. as you will see, representative perry contacted the white house in the weeks after january 6 to seek a presidential pardon. multiple other republican congressman also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. in our 4th hearing, we will focus on president trump's efforts to pressure vice president mike pence to refuse to count electoral votes on january 6th. vice president pence has spoken publicly about this. >> president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn thl election. the presidency belongs to the american people and the american people along. and frankly, there's no idea more on america. and the notion that any one person could choose the american president. >> but president trump demanded that mike pence to do wasn't just wrong. it was illegal and it was unconstitutional. you'll hear th

he decided against this course of action that would've taken jeff clark and made him the top official in the justice department, heading into january 6th. >> speaking of justice, is the justice department expanding its criminal investigation? >> sarah, we've got new reporting here at cbs news in washington. we've been able to confirm the just yesterday morning, there was a raid on the home of jeffrey clark, he was the justice department official, who advocated this legal path to tell the states that they had found irregularities with the boat and they should have a special session to put forward new or alternate lectures to come to washington for the electoral college certification. and we learned to our reporting that they seized electronic devices from jeffrey clark's home, and that's happening at the same time that we understand subpoenas have been served on these electors, who were willing to serve for then president trump. that tells us the criminal justice department investigation has expanded and expanded to those individuals who it appears were willing to support this alternat

you're clearly the right candidate for this job. >> i made the point jeff clark is not competent to serve as attorney general, and i said that's right. you're an environmental lawyer how about you go back to your office, we will call you when there's an oil spill? >> i thought jeff's proposal was nuts. this guy at a certain point, best i can tell is the only thing you know about environmental and elections challenges is they both start with "e," and based on your answers, i'm not sure you know even that. >> reporter: doj threatened to resign en masse >> leadership will be gone he will be left in a graveyard. >> reporter: clark repeatedly invoked fifth amendment rights when questioned. federal agents searching clark's virginia home on wednesday, seizing his electronics. committee evidence showing clark was recommended to the president by pennsylvania republican scott perry, who was among several members of congress who testimony showed later asked for presidential pardons >> did he contact you directly >> yes, he did >> reporter: perry had previously called claims he asked for a pardon a,

jeff clark's home was raided by federal agents. the u.s. attorney's office confirming the law enforcement activity but would not discuss anything else. the committee is expected to take eight to week break before the hearings resume. >>> updating or breaking news. several wildfires burning in the bay area. we have a live look at the one near the -- this fire has grown to 71 acres. crusade progress has stopped. police in pleasanton are evacuating people living in the area of golden eagle. we know at least one helm has been damage. many more are threatened by the flames. firefighters battling the fire from the ground and from the air. you have been following the weather because we are dealing with high temperatures. we have the wind as well. i know you mentioned a little earlier the problem with the wind is not that is strong, but it's blowing from the west. >>> it is pushing right towards these communities. as the firefighters watch those hotspots tonight, it could be a concern. that's why you need to listen to those evacuation orders. i can

he offered jeff clark and environmental lawyer at the justice department, the job of acting attorney general president trump wanted mr. clark, to take a number of steps, including sending this letter to georgia and 5 other states saying the u. s. department of justice had quote, identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election . this letter is a lie. the department of justice had, in fact, repeatedly told president trump exactly the opposite. that they had investigated his stolen election allegations and found no credible fraud that could impact the outcome of the election. this letter and others like it would have urged multiple states to withdraw their official and lawful electoral votes for biden, acting deputy attorney general richard donahue, described jeff clark's letter this way. quote, this would be a grave step for the department to take and could have tremendous constitutional political and social ramifications for this country. the committee agrees with mr. donahue, as assessment, had clark assumed the role of attorney general in the days

acting deputy attorney general richard donahue described jeff clark's letter this way: quote, this would be a grave step for the department to take and could have tremendous constitutional, political and social ramifications for this country. the committee agrees with mr. donahue's assessment. had clark assumed the role of attorney general in the days before january 6th and issued these letters, the ram by occasions could -- ramifications could indeed have been grave. mr. donahue also said in the about clark's plan:? >> and i recall toward the end saying what you're proposing is nothing less than the united states justice department meddling in the outcome of a presidential election. >> in our hearings you will hear firsthand how the senior leadership at the department of justice threatened to the resign, how the white house counsel threatened to resign, how they confronted donald trump and jeff clark the oval office. the men involved, including acting attorney general jeff rosen and acting deputy attorney general richard donahue, were appointed by president trump. these men honored thei

rosen with him, jeff clark, what would you do and i said, mr. president, i would resign immediately i'm not working one minute for this guy, who i had just declared was completely incompetent. and so, the president immediately turned to mr. engel and he said, steve, you wouldn't resign, would you? and he said, absolutely, i would, mr. president, you leave me no choice and i said, we're not the only ones no one cares if we resign. if steve and i go that's fine. you will lose the entire department leadership. every single aag will leave. the entire department will walk out within hours and i don't know what happens after that >> now, almost every assistant attorney general had committed to resigning, as well. rosen told the committee that clark was unqualified for the job, not just because he didn't have the experience, but because he was willing to go after all those false claims of election fraud. and the president knew it. >> the president turned to me and he said, well, one thing well know is you, rosen, you aren't going to do anything. you d

acting deputy attorney general richard donoghue described jeff clark's letter this way, "this would be a grave step for the department to take and could have tremendous constitutional, political, and social ramifications for this country." the committee agrees with mr. donahue's assessment. if clark assumed the role of attorney general in the days before january 6 and issued the letters, the ramifications could have been grave. mr. donahue also said this about clark's plan. [video clip] >> i recall towards the end saying, what you are proposing is nothing less than the united states justice department meddling in the outcome of the presidential election. [end of video clip] rep. cheney: in our hearings you will hear firsthand how the senior leadership of the department of justice threatened to resign, how the white house counsel threatened to resign, and how they confronted donald trump and jeff clark in the oval office. the men involved, including acting attorney general jeff rosen and deputy acting attorney general richard donohue were reported by president trump. these men honored t