[1] Between 1969 and 1973 he served in the JAG Corp of the US Army where he litigated criminal matters in special and general courts martial.
Although reluctant to leave the practice of law, which he loved, he said, "I am a strong believer in public service, and it is my turn to serve my State of Alaska, which has given so much back to me and my family."
During this time he was often referred to as "the most powerful unelected official in Alaska," although he always rejected this as he said his job was simply to carry out the will of Governor Murkowski, and noted that he was not acting on his own agenda.
[2] In 2008, Clark admitted that he was aware that VECO Corporation had paid $10,000 for a political poll to gauge the popularity of then-incumbent Governor Murkowski, and was charged with honest services fraud.
However, this statute was so vague it gave prosecutors "almost carte blanche power" to use in political and private situations which "should not be criminalized.