Justin Reilly "JC" Clark (born June 3, 1975) is an American attorney, former government official, and former presidential campaign official for Donald J. Trump. He served as
Director of Public Liaison and
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House under the Trump administration.
Prior to his government service, Clark was a
partner
Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to:
Books
* ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997
* ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928
* ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart
* ''Partner'' (m ...
at the law firm of Davis, Clark & Bonafonte LLC.
Early life and education
Clark grew up in
West Hartford
West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census.
The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, and attended
Conard High School
Frederick U. Conard High School is a public high school in West Hartford, in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It opened in 1957, and was named after Frederick Underwood Conard, president of Niles-Bement-Pond Company and chairman of the local Board o ...
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
.
Majoring in economics Clark invested a large part of his education in mathematics and statistical analysis that formed the basis of his approach to politics later in life. While at Wesleyan, he lettered as a midfielder and a defenseman for the varsity lacrosse team and was a member of the
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...
fraternity.
He received his
Juris Doctor from the
University of Connecticut School of Law
The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...
in 2004.
Career
After graduating from law school, he clerked for
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
Peter T. Zarella of the
Connecticut Supreme Court
The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, ac ...
and was appointed by
Connecticut Governor
The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...
Jodi Rell
Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut.
Rell was C ...
to serve on the Judicial Review Council from 2009 to 2013.
Clark was a co-founder of the Connecticut-based law firm Davis, Clark & Bonafonte LLC, where his practice focused on litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also provided general counsel services to clients, advised them on compliance matters, and represented them before various regulatory bodies. As a part of that practice he served various state and national campaigns and committees. He managed
Tom Foley
Thomas Stephen Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party, Foley represen ...
's unsuccessful
gubernatorial campaigns in 2010 and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
He was also political director for
Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon (née Edwards; October 4, 1948) is an American political executive, retired professional wrestler, executive, and performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019.
McMahon ...
's unsuccessful
2012 United States Senate campaign. In both efforts Clark applied a data driven approach with a qualitative understanding of the electorate to lead his candidates to surprise wins at their respective state party conventions. In 2015, he worked on
Matt Bevin
Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky, from 2015 to 2019. He was the third Republican Party (United States), Republican elected Kentucky governor sin ...
's successful
gubernatorial campaign in Kentucky where, among other things, he successfully developed and executed the plan to preserve an 83-vote margin in a recanvass of votes in the May primary.
Prior to joining the
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, Clark served as Director of Operations for the unsuccessful
Chris Christie 2016 presidential campaign.
Clark was hired by Donald Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016 as the campaign's Connecticut state director, and later served as an advisor to the campaign during the
Indiana Republican primary in May 2016. In June 2016, he was named Deputy National Political Director of the campaign and served in that capacity through the end of the election.
In that role he developed and implemented a 50-state political and field strategy and during the
2016 Republican National Convention, served as one of the chief
whips
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
for the campaign on the rules committee and on the floor.
Throughout the general election Clark condensed and applied analytics and polling data to help guide the team that directed spending and candidate travel. He later headed the campaign's recount efforts in Michigan and served as the chief whip for the campaign in the electoral college.
After the election, Clark served on the
Presidential transition team.
Clark became the President's
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs on January 20, 2017.
He was appointed the
Director of Public Liaison in March 2018.
In that role, Clark oversaw the political aspects of the nomination of
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
to the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. In December 2018, Clark and White House political director
Bill Stepien were named Senior Political Advisors to the President's re-election campaign focusing on delegate and party organization.
Clark is also Senior Counsel to the President's re-election campaign focused on compliance and election day operations. In 2019, Clark was surreptitiously recorded telling Wisconsin Republicans that "traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places" and that 2020 would be the time to "start playing offense a little bit" to protect their voters.
In response to the recording, Clark said "Republicans historically have been falsely accused of voter suppression." In 2020, Clark was appointed as a member of the
President's Commission on White House Fellowships
The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Cor ...
. Clark was named Deputy Campaign Manager of the President's re-election campaign in July 2020.
In 2021, Clark and Jesse R. Binnall filed Donald Trump's appeal to the Washington, D.C. circuit court in a failed effort to thwart the release of documents relating to the
2021 United States Capitol attack. According to a court filing, on June 29, 2022, Clark was interviewed by the FBI related to the criminal contempt case of
Steve Bannon
Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...
, who was convicted of contempt of congress for defying a subpoena from the
Jan. 6 select committee.
References
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Justin R
1975 births
American lawyers
Connecticut Republicans
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
Kentucky Republicans
Living people
People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election
People from West Hartford, Connecticut
Trump administration personnel
University of Connecticut School of Law alumni
Wesleyan University alumni
Donald Trump attorneys