Democratic lawmakers are rallying against the possible appointment of Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke to be assistant secretary in the Office of Partnership and Engagement at the Homeland Security Department.
Multiple letters have been sent to DHS Secretary John Kelly urging him to reject Clarke due to concerns about his record as overseer of the Milwaukee County Jail after multiple inmate deaths and controversial comments he’s made about the Black Lives Matter movement, Democrats and Planned Parenthood.
More recently, Clarke was accused of plagiarism. A CNN KFile report over the weekend found 47 instances in which Clarke failed to properly attribute sources used in a 2013 master’s thesis, which is currently under investigation by the the Naval Postgraduate School. Clarke denies the report.
“It is clear Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke lacks the temperament and sound judgment required to effectively liaise with local law enforcement on matters of national security,” said Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., one of 55 members of Congress to sign onto a letter sent to Kelly on Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security, led by ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., also sent a letter to Kelly.
“Sheriff Clarke’s troubling record as Milwaukee County Sheriff is well documented,” they wrote. “His oversight of the Milwaukee County Jail has been scrutinized after multiple inmate deaths, including an infant who passed away after being born inside a cell and a man who died of dehydration after going seven days without water. He derided the Black Lives Matter movement, even alleging it would join forces with ISIS. He stated that rather than work with Democrats, he would only reach across the aisle to ‘grab one of them by the throat.’ Most recently, it has been reported that he plagiarized his 2013 Master’s thesis on U.S. security.”
The group argues Clarke is “unsuitable” for the position of assistant secretary.
Though Clarke said he has accepted a role with the Trump administration, set to start next month as assistant DHS secretary, the DHS public affairs office was unable to confirm his claim.
