Former U.S. Attorney Pak testifies to Senate committee about resigning

WASHINGTON — Former Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney Byung “B.Jay” Pak testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his abrupt resignation in January.

Pak confirmed that he participated in questioning when contacted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution but declined to comment further. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is a member of the committee, listened in on the testimony, his office confirmed.

The meeting, which was held virtually, was open only to committee staff and lawmakers.

Pak told investigators from the Judiciary Committee that he stepped down in January after he learned that he would be fired by then-President Donald Trump because he had refused to support accusations that Georgia’s general election results were fraudulent, The New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the testimony. Pak said Trump was unhappy he had looked into claims the election was mishandled and found no evidence of it.

Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, another Democrat on the committee, released a statement afterward saying he found the former top prosecutor for the Northern District of Georgia credible.

“Mr. Pak answered all questions in a seemingly honest and candid way, and my impression is that he believes in the rule of law and that he stood up for it,” Blumenthal said.

Pak is also expected to speak to Justice Department investigators and members of the House Select Committee of Jan. 6, which has taken over that chamber’s investigation of Trump’s attempts to overturn election results.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which was leading the investigation previously, have said emails released in June indicated that Trump attempted to use federal resources and personnel to overturn the outcome of the presidential election. Georgia was among a handful of swing states that Democrat Joe Biden won, but Trump and his supporters went on a weekslong crusade to flip the outcome.

The emails showed Trump allies in the White House and Justice Department reaching out to Pak at the same time Trump was saying Fulton County had not properly enforced signature-matching laws for absentee ballots. After three days, Pak abruptly submitted his resignation on Jan. 4, which was weeks ahead of his scheduled departure date.

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