Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will now receive briefings on the Mueller investigation, and he is expected to feed the information to Trump.
Paula Reid of CBS News tweeted:
MORE: Whitaker did not specifically ask ethics officials if he should recuse from Russia probe, but he/his team were advised on precedent & determined Whitaker should not be the first AG to recuse on a matter not related to a client or financial interest. DOJ letter to come.
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) December 20, 2018
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TAKEAWAY: DOJ ethics officials determined that *IF* AAG Whitaker asked them if he should recuse from Mueller probe, they would advise him that he should recuse himself "out of an abundance of caution." But he never asked. Decided he did not want to recuse because of "appearance."
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) December 20, 2018
Whitaker is expected to take his briefing straight to Trump
Matt Whitaker was chosen over more qualified candidates to be acting attorney general because while he worked under Jeff Sessions, he was Trump’s mole in the Department of Justice. Whitaker is widely expected to start feeding Trump information on Mueller’s activities as soon as he is briefed. Whitaker isn’t running the investigation, but he will have access to the information that Trump desperately wants.
The plan all along for Trump was to get a loyalist in the Department of Justice who would spy on the investigation for him, and end it if Trump asked him to do so.
Trump is trying to beat the rap by sabotaging Mueller.
It has never been more vital for Congress to pass legislation to protect Special Counsel Mueller.
Trump is putting his plan in motion, and it is up to Congress to protect the rule of law.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
