A reported plan involving a top U.S. Justice Department lawyer and the ouster of the acting U.S. attorney general to help former President Donald Trump advance his claims of voter fraud drew widespread condemnation Jan. 23 and calls for an attorney ethics investigation and an independent inspector general probe.

The Justice Department lawyer, Jeffrey B. Clark, a Philadelphia native and former Kirkland & Ellis partner who had been serving as the acting head of the civil division since September, was named in a New York Times report Jan. 22 as a central participant in discussions with Trump about an alleged scheme to remove Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general at the time. Clark has said he “categorically” denies crafting a plan to remove Rosen.