Kristen Clarke - Associate Attorney General - Civil Rights Division

Resources:

• Talking Points

Kristen Clarke, the current head of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a former staffer for the attorney general of New York, is President Biden's nominee to serve as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Clarke's radical views on abortion and race and her shocking defense of anti-Semitic thinkers make her unsuitable to hold such a high position within the DOJ. Clarke was confirmed as the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at DOJ on May 25, 2021 by a vote of  51-48.

Views on Abortion:

• The pro-abortion organization NARAL hailed Clarke's nomination as proof of the Biden administration's commitment to supporting a radical pro-abortion agenda. (See link)

• In her capacity as president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Clarke sent an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case June Medical Services, LLC v. Gee that sought to overturn a Louisiana law that would simply require abortionists to follow the same medical standards as hospitals. (See link)
• Clarke praised the Supreme Court's decision in Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down a pro-life law in Texas (See link)

Views on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity:

• Called on governments at all levels to pass anti-family, anti-religious freedom laws like the Equality Act, under the guise of promoting LGBT rights (See link)
• Clarke has focused on promoting the LGBT agenda and abortion access while working as head of the Civil Rights Bureau for the New York State Attorney General's Office.  (See link)
• Clarke tweeted her opposition to the Trump administration's launching of a Religious Liberty Task Force, saying that "DOJ should be working to fight discrimination, while dismissing the discrimination on the basis of religion that people of faith face. (see link)

Miscellaneous:

• In a 1994 letter to Harvard's student newspaper, Clarke argued that black people have "greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities" than white people due to greater amounts of melanin (See link)
• Clarke has a troubling history of support for antisemitic public figures and positions. As the head of Harvard's Black Students Association, Clarke invited Tony Martin, known for anti-Semitic views, as a guest lecturer. She praised Martin as "an intelligent, well-versed black intellectual who bases his information on indisputable fact" (See link)

In 2019, Clarke signed a petition in support of Tamika Mallory, who has referred to "white Jews" as white supremacists and who has praised Louis Farrakhan despite his antisemitic views (See link)