(USNewsMag.com) – On March 26th, Pat Philbin, former President Donald Trump’s deputy White House counsel, spoke publicly for the first time about the last days of Trump’s presidency.
Philbin recalled Trump’s final days as president during his testimony for the disbarment hearing of former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, 56. The acting head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division under Trump, Clark faces disbarment for his alleged role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Philbin had previously testified about the final days of Trump’s presidency behind closed doors for the January 6th select committee and the federal grand jury that indicted Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. However, a transcript or recording of his comments has never been released.
During the March 26th public testimony, Philbin recalled that just before Jan. 6th, 2021, Trump attempted to put a plan in place that involved appointing Clark as acting attorney general. Philbin, who knew Clark from their days in private practice in the 1990s, said he talked to Clark, explaining that the theories of fraud that Clark espoused had already been debunked. Philbin said that he told Clark he was misinformed about the manipulation of voting machines occurring during the election.
However, Philbin said that because Clark believed there were issues with the 2020 election results, he pursued what he thought was his duty. He said he felt Clark truly believed “there was a real crisis in the country.” Philbin said he emphasized to Clark that Trump’s plan was a “bad idea,” adding that if they were successful, “there would be riots in every major American city.” Philbin stated that the threat of mass resignation, which caused Trump to back down from his plan, was partially his idea, which he conveyed to Clark.
The hearing comes after bar investigators charged Clark with attempting to coerce leaders of the Department of Justice to embrace false claims of fraud in the 2020 election in an attempt to pressure state legislators to overturn the results in swing states, including Georgia, where Clark is a co-defendant in the case against Trump.
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