spoke to Cipollone, who told Rosen that Clark's appointment was not inevitable and that he would also be at the meeting that evening to support Rosen and Donoghue.[283] Third, Rosen called Engel and asked him to come to DOJ headquarters so he could attend the White House meeting.[284] Finally, Rosen asked Donoghue and another senior Department attorney named Patrick Hovakimian to convene a meeting of the rest of the Department's leadership to describe the situation to them and hear how they would react to Clark's appointment.[285]
Hovakimian set up a conference call. Although some of the Assistant Attorneys General were not able to participate in the call, all of those who did agreed that they would resign if Rosen were removed from office.[286] Pat Hovakimian drafted a resignation letter that read:
This evening, after Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen over the course of the last week repeatedly refused the President's direct instructions to utilize the Department of Justice's law enforcement powers for improper ends, the President removed Jeff from the Department. PADAG Rich Donoghue and I resign from the Department, effectively immediately.[287]
Hovakimian never sent the letter because the threat of mass resignations dissuaded President Trump from replacing Rosen. Regardless, the letter stated a plain truth: President Trump was trying to use DOJ for his own "improper ends."
