Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke says she was the victim of domestic violence over the course of several years and decided not to disclose an expunged arrest record dating back to that period during her 2021 Senate confirmation hearing. Clarke, the leader of the DOJ’s civil rights division, disclosed the alleged abuse in a statement to CNN after The Daily Signal and other right-wing outlets reported on the arrest, which in turn led to accusations that Clarke had lied under oath. “Nearly 2 decades ago, I was subjected to years-long abuse and domestic violence at the hands of my ex-husband,” Clarke wrote in her statement. She reportedly acknowledged the arrest in the statement but said she wasn’t required to disclose it because it was expunged from her record. “When given the option to speak about such traumatic incidents in my life, I have chosen not to,” Clarke wrote. “I didn’t believe during my confirmation process and I don’t believe now that I was obligated to share a fully expunged matter from my past.”