Ex-FBI lawyer convicted of forgery in probe of Trump ties to Russia reinstated by D.C. Bar and can once again practice law

• Kevin Clinesmith was convicted of forgery during the federal investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 election
• In January, Judge James Boasberg ordered the disgraced lawyer to work 400 hours of community service and 12 months probation
• Clinesmith agreed to suspend his own license in August 2020, allowing him to serve out the sanction before his criminal sentence was up
• His Washington DC license was reinstated on September 2 

A former top FBI lawyer convicted of forgery during the federal investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 election can now practice law again in Washington, D.C. after a one-year suspension of his license.

Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to a felony in August 2020, admitted to doctoring an email that served as support a Russiagate wiretap of Carter Page, a former campaign official in President Donald Trump.

In January, Judge James Boasberg ordered the disgraced lawyer to work 400 hours of community service and 12 months probation, ending at the end of 2021.

Through some legal maneuvering, Clinesmith, knowing he would be convicted, agreed to suspend his own license in August 2020, allowing him to serve out the sanction before his criminal sentence was up. 

The DC Court of Appeals Board of Professional Responsibility, which oversees all sanctions against lawyers, agreed to what amounts to a lawyer's plea deal that doesn't permit them from imposing further sanctions.

Clinesmith reported his plea deal on August 25, within the 10-day period required by law.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel head Phil Fox, which reviews the cases, said that his office reviewed other cases of lawyers convicted of the same offense and found the punishment was only a one-year suspension.

'We have to compare the sanction that would be imposed on Mr. Clinesmith to the sanction that have been imposed on other lawyers for the same thing,' he told Dailymail.com.

His office does not have the authority to issue fines and a panel of DC judges signed off on his finding.

In contrast, the Michigan Bar suspended his law license for two years and fined him over a thousand dollars, RealClearInvestigations reported.

His DC license was reinstated on September 2, according to Fox, because his offense did not rise to the level of moral turpitude, the legal standard for disbarring a lawyer. 

During Clinesmith's sentencing, federal prosecutors pointed out that his actions ran contrary to the vow he took as a lawyer. 

'As a licensed attorney and an officer of the Court, the defendant took an oath, was bound by professional and ethical obligations, and should have been well-aware of this duty of candor,' Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony F. Scarpelli and Neeraj Patel wrote in a memorandum. 

The federal prosecutors also pointed out that Clinesmith appeared to let his personal politics get in the way of his job.

'It is plausible that his strong political views and/or personal dislike of the current President made him more willing to engage in the fraudulent and unethical conduct to which he has pled guilty,' they wrote. 

The judge, however, disagreed, citing a federal inspector general's report that concluded Clinesmith's forgery was not politically motivated.

'The exhaustive [Horowitz Report]...determined after a detailed investigation that Mr. Clinesmith had not acted with any political bias or any desire to harm the Trump campaign, or anyone affiliated with it, in forwarding the e-mail,' the judge said during sentencing. 'I see no reason to disagree with that conclusion.' 

And Clinesmith told the court that he failed his profession. 

'With my action, I failed to satisfy the high standard that I have as a civil servant as as an attorney. As a consequence, I've lost the means to provide for my growing family. I have lost the career I relentlessly sought most of my life,' he said during his sentencing. 

Attorneys for Clinesmith did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.