POLITICUSUSA
When Matthew Whitaker assumed the role of acting attorney general in November 2018 after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired, it was part of a nefarious scheme by Donald Trump to subvert the Justice Department’s chain of command.
Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker said Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is “close to being completed.”
Whitaker told reporters at a press conference that he has been “fully briefed on the investigation.”
House Democrats are investigating acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to determine if he has ever improperly shared information about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation with President Trump or his lawyers.
Many people are very worried about Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation. Some people are worried that Donald Trump will undercut Mueller by issuing pardons. As Jason Easley from PoliticusUSA wrote yesterday:
Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California has his sights set on Matthew Whitaker, and he is not happy about what he sees.
Schiff is the current ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee which means that in January he will replace Devin Nunes as chairman of the powerful committee. On Sunday Schiff complained that the new acting attorney general at the Justice Department is not being transparent, and he has a big problem with that.
The problems of acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker keep piling up. Already he has gotten into hot water for past comments that were critical of the Mueller probe. Then he found out that he is being investigated for fraud by House Democrats. And several senators have brought a lawsuit saying his appointment is unconstitutional.
Apparently acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker isn’t going anywhere.
A confidential source has told Axios that President Trump has shown “no great urgency” in nominating a replacement for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and is very pleased with Whitaker’s supposed “courage” in defending him.
President Donald Trump on Thursday tore into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, saying that investigators have “gone absolutely nuts” and that they are “a disgrace” to the country.
Several powerful Democratic members of the House of Representatives issued a press release Wednesday evening saying that they are beginning an probe into possible illegal actions by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Specifically they will be investigating Whitaker’s involvement in a company that was deemed to be a scam by federal law enforcement agencies.
“Because Mr. Whitaker was not confirmed by the Senate, both Republican and Democratic constitutional law experts warned that his appointment was, and continues to be, unconstitutional,” Reps. Elijah Cummings (Md.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) , Frank Pallone, Jr. (N.J), and Adam Schiff (Calif.) said in the joint release.
“In addition, because the Senate was not given an opportunity to properly vet Mr. Whitaker’s background, serious questions are now arising about his fitness to serve in this position of trust.”
The Democrats who signed the statement are some of the most powerful in Washington. When the new Congress convenes in January:
The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker previously lead a mysterious right-wing organization that existed to issue false statements against Democrats.
According to The Daily Beast Whitaker worked as executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). Last year FACT had defended then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for telling falsehoods to the United States Senate when he was testifying about meetings with Russians during confirmation hearings.