Jan. 6 panel votes to hold former DOJ official in contempt

The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection has voted to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who refused to answer the committee's questions -- but the panel agreed to let him come back for another try.

The committee voted 9-0 Wednesday to pursue criminal charges against Clark, who aligned with Donald Trump ahead of the violent attack as the then-president tried to overturn his election defeat. Clark appeared for a deposition last month but refused to be interviewed, citing Trump's legal efforts to block the committee's investigation.

The Democratic chairman of the Jan. 6 panel, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said it had received a last-minute notification from Clark's lawyer that he now wants to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Thompson said the lawyer had offered "no specific basis for that assertion" and "no facts that would allow the committee to consider it," but the committee will give Clark a second chance at a deposition scheduled for Saturday.

"This is, in my view, a last-ditch attempt to delay the Select Committee's proceedings," Thompson said. "However, a Fifth Amendment privilege assertion is a weighty one. Even though Mr. Clark previously had the opportunity to make these claims on the record, the Select Committee will provide him another chance to do so."

Thompson said the committee was still proceeding with the contempt vote "as this is just the first step of the contempt process."