Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke admitted Wednesday that she was arrested and chose not to disclose the legal matter during her Senate confirmation process because it had been expunged from her record.
During her 2021 confirmation process, Clarke, who now heads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, was asked by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in a questionnaire if she’d “ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person.”
To which Clarke responded, “No.”
The Daily Signal reported on Tuesday that Clarke was arrested in Maryland in relation to a domestic violence complaint back in 2006.
The outlet cited court documents, her ex-husband Reginald Avery and text messages between Avery and the head of the American Accountability Foundation (a conservative nonprofit group).
Avery told the outlet that his finger was “sliced to the bone” after Clarke allegedly came at him with a knife after he revealed that he was cheating on her.
Charges against Clarke were dropped, and more than a year later, she filed paperwork that would wipe the arrest from her record.
“Nearly 2 decades ago, I was subjected to years-long abuse and domestic violence at the hands of my ex-husband,” Clarke said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.
“This was a terrorizing and traumatizing period that I have sought to put behind me to promote my personal health, healing and well-being,” she added. “The physical and emotional scars, the emotional abuse and exploitation, and the lying are things that no woman or mother should ever have to endure.”
Clarke asserted that since the arrest was expunged, she wasn’t required to disclose it to lawmakers.
“When given the option to speak about such traumatic incidents in my life, I have chosen not to,” the Biden administration official said. “I didn’t believe during my confirmation process and I don’t believe now that I was obligated to share a fully expunged matter from my past.”
At least one Republican is demanding that Clarke step down from her role at DOJ, arguing that she should have disclosed her arrest.
“Kristen Clarke is in charge of enforcing civil rights laws. She enforces those laws aggressively against anyone who sneezes near an abortion clinic. And not at all against those who vandalize churches,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X.
“She lied under oath during her confirmation proceedings, and should resign,” the senator said.
Clarke does not appear to have any intention to resign.
“As I have done at every stage of my career as a life-long public servant, I will continue working to ensure that we carry out our work in a way that centers the experiences and needs of crime victims,” she said.
