Trump attorney Justin Clark interviewed with the FBI last month, prosecutors say

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The Defendants timing suggests that the only thing that has really changed since he refused to comply with the subpoena in October 2021 is that he is finally about to face the consequences of his decision to default, Vaughn wrote.

All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendants sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability.

According to Vaughn, Clark contradicted multiple claims by Bannon and his defense team, which had long cited correspondence with Clark as the basis for Bannons contention that Trump had claimed executive privilege over Bannons testimony and records.

Instead, Vaughn said, Clark told DOJ that the former President never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials; that the former Presidents counsel never asked or was asked to attend the Defendants deposition before the Select Committee; that the Defendants attorney misrepresented to the Committee what the former Presidents counsel had told the Defendants attorney; and that the former Presidents counsel made clear to the Defendants attorney that the letter provided no basis for total noncompliance.

Vaughn noted that DOJ provided Bannons team with an FBI report of Clarks interview on June 30, the day after it was conducted.

Its unclear if Clark was specifically interviewed about Bannons case or was brought in to discuss other matters DOJ is pursuing connected to Trumps effort to overturn the election. Clark and Bannon attorney Robert Costello did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Jan. 6 select committee recently revealed that Clark interviewed with them as well, raising doubts about the Trump camps effort to send false slates of electors to Congress in December 2020, part of a multifaceted plan to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election.

Bannons attorneys indicated they were aware of Clarks interview last week, citing it without identifying Clark as a reason to delay Bannons trial until October.

In a separate filing, DOJ also rejected additional arguments by Bannon to delay his trial, including a newly lodged argument that one of the prosecutors on the case, Molly Gaston, once worked with a top select committee staffer, Kristin Amerling, on Capitol Hill and were in a book club together.

In his effort to create panic, the Defendant also mischaracterizes the information the Government provided relating to Kristin Amerling, Vaughn wrote. As the Government informed the Defendant on July 8, she and Ms. Gaston worked together over a decade ago and were in a book club that Ms. Gaston has not attended in almost two years. At no point did the Government represent that Ms. Amerling and Ms. Gaston have a close personal relationship, because they do not.

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