The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department has filed a federal complaint aimed at District of Columbia bar disciplinary officials over the proceeding against Jeffrey Clark, the former Trump-era Justice Department lawyer whose case has already produced a recommendation that he be disbarred. The filing landed on May 13, 2026. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-dc-bar-disciplinary-authorities-over-their?utm_source=openai))

The complaint is not an appeal from a final disbarment order. It seeks to halt ongoing disciplinary proceedings that followed a July 31, 2025 recommendation from the D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility. Under the bar’s rules, the Board recommends discipline, and the D.C. Court of Appeals has final authority over attorney sanctions. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/73ba327c73769674b4b87e8b924d8aeb?utm_source=openai))

DOJ’s lawsuit names the disciplinary machinery that has been handling the case, including the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the Board, its officials, and the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals in her official capacity. The department says the bar process wrongly reaches into internal executive-branch deliberations tied to advice and draft action that was never issued. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-dc-bar-disciplinary-authorities-over-their?utm_source=openai))

Clark’s disciplinary case stems from conduct tied to the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The Board’s recommendation said he should lose his law license; DOJ is now asking a federal court to stop the local discipline system from carrying that matter forward while it argues that the proceeding itself is unlawful. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/73ba327c73769674b4b87e8b924d8aeb?utm_source=openai))

The case now sits at the center of a procedural fight over who gets to police government lawyers when the disputed conduct involves federal policy work, internal legal advice, and political fallout. The D.C. Court of Appeals has not yet issued a final ruling in Clark’s case. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-dc-bar-disciplinary-authorities-over-their?utm_source=openai))