The 'branch new' command always attempts to use gpg signing, even if the clearsign  setting is off.

The code appears to check for the "omitsign" setting rather than the "clearsign" setting. (checkin also checkd for the omitsign option; nothing appears to set it anywhere -- is this a relic of an older version?)

The --nosign option works to bypass signing; however this is not listed in the usage.