Teetering
President Donald Trump’s new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, will oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
“The Acting Attorney General is in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice,” a spokeswoman for the department said Wednesday when asked if Whitaker would oversee Mueller’s investigation.
Which is kind of…how shall I say…shady, because Whitaker hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate.
Whitaker argued in an August 2017 op-ed for CNN that Mueller’s investigation is “dangerously close to crossing” the so-called red line not to look into the Trump family’s finances.
“It does not take a lawyer or even a former federal prosecutor like myself to conclude that investigating Donald Trump’s finances or his family’s finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else,” Whitaker wrote in the piece.
“That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel.”
Less than a month earlier, Whitaker had defended Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., for accepting a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with Russian officials who had promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.
“You would always take that meeting,” Whitaker said on CNN.
He sounds…how shall I say…shady.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called on Whitaker to recuse himself, citing “his record of threats to undermine & weaken the Russia investigation.”
But if he’s shady he’s not going to recuse himself, is he, and he sounds shady.
CBS News is reporting that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is no longer leading the Mueller inquiry, and that Matthew Whitaker will now assume control.
The president cannot directly fire the special counsel, whose investigation Mr Trump has repeatedly decried as a witch hunt. But Mr Sessions’ replacement will have the power to fire Mr Mueller or end the inquiry.
Mr Rosenstein was summoned to the White House on Wednesday for what was described as a previously scheduled meeting.
This is not looking good.
Democrats were outraged by the attorney general’s removal, with the Democratic National Committee noting that the appointee has not been confirmed for the role by the US Senate as required.
The party’s Senate leader Chuck Schumer tweeted: “Clearly, the President has something to hide.”
“Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general.”
…
House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: “It is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions’ firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by President Trump to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.”
Not looking good at all.
How could any investigation into corruption *possibly* not involve financial matters? How can anyone say with a straight face that investigating whether someone has profited financially from corrupt dealings is a red line that ought not to be crossed?
How are people saying things like this in public and have people sagely nodding their heads as though it wasn’t the most outrageous bullshit that has ever been shat by bull?