Trump’s unprecedented attempts to remain in power spark Justice Department investigation

Chris Light

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Danish Kapur, Reporter

On Monday, the Justice Department watchdog, Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, announced an investigation into his own department that would include whether or not any of the department’s officials conspired to undo results of the presidential election.

The investigation follows efforts by Mr. Trump to install Jeffrey Clark, a top federal law enforcement official as the acting attorney general in order to carry out a plot to have the Department of Justice seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

The Senate Judiciary Committee stated that it had also initiated its own inquiry into officials including Mr. Clark who was the head of the Justice Department’s environmental and natural resources division and a known Trump ally.

The top democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Richard J. Durbin said the investigation would include efforts by Mr. Trump and Mr. Clark “to further Trump’s efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

When reporters questioned Mr. Clark about the accusations against him, He stated that they were inaccurate without providing any further specifics on the matter.

Mr. Trump’s plan sparked outrage from lawmakers and justice department officials.

Attorney Marc Elias, overly familiar with Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the election has been actively involved in combating those attempts.

“An inspector general investigation is a good start, but we need to ensure that those who sought to undermine our democracy are punished in every way possible, whether that is a criminal conviction, expulsion from Congress or disbarment,” Elias said.

The inspector general’s statement adds fuel to the scrutiny that Mr. Trump was facing for his efforts to stay in power regardless of the outcome of the election.

Trump’s actions forced attorney general and former Trump supporter William P. Barr to publicly state that they haven’t found any evidence of fraud on a scale that could affect the results of the elections.

After Barr’s statement, he fell out of favor with Mr. Trump and resigned a few weeks later.

Mr. Trump’s efforts to undermine Democracy have not gone unnoticed.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for a second time.

Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer (d-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reached an agreement last week that the impeachment trial would begin the week of February 8.