CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS FOR TRUMP OFFICIAL

The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in Washington said on Monday it was moving toward holding Jeffrey Clark, a senior Justice Department official under ex-president Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress.

Clark, the former acting head of the Justice Department’s civil division, was a proponent of Trump’s false claims that his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 election was the result of fraud.

The House Select Committee said it would meet on Wednesday evening to vote on a report recommending that the full House cite Clark for contempt of Congress.

A House vote to do so would refer the matter to federal prosecutors, who would decide whether to bring a misdemeanour charge punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to US$100,000.