has acting attorney general matthew whitaker learned what the special counsel has found

by Prof. Jamir Hickle III 7 min read

What is Matthew Whitaker doing now?

Dec 22, 2018 · Thursday was an extremely troubling day for the reputation of the Department of Justice. Early in the day, the Department told the media that ethics officials had advised Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker that he did not need to recuse himself from supervision of the Special Counsel investigation. Then, later in the day, that story changed as reporters began …

What happened to Attorney General Whitaker?

Nov 08, 2018 · Whitaker has already come under fire for deeply critical views of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe that he’d made in the past. In an interview with CNN in 2017, he argued that the inquiry could be kneecapped if the attorney general “just reduces his budget so low that the investigation grinds almost to a halt.”

Did Matthew Whitaker say Jews should not be federal judges?

Jan 23, 2019 · House Democrats want to know if acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has ever shared information he learned in possible briefings about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation with ...

Was Whitaker on board of firm that threatened duped clients with'Israeli Special Ops'?

Feb 09, 2019 · The acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, said on Friday that he has “not interfered in any way” in the special counsel’s Russia investigation as he faced a contentious congressional ...

What is Matthew Whitaker doing now?

After leaving the Justice Department, Whitaker became a guest on news and analysis shows, and was affiliated with the law firm of Graves Garrett. In August 2019, he became a managing director at Axiom Strategies and Clout Public Affairs.

Who is Matt Whitaker wife?

Marci WhitakerMatthew Whitaker / Wife

Who replaced Attorney General Sessions?

Jeff SessionsDeputyDana Boente (acting) Rod RosensteinPreceded byLoretta LynchSucceeded byWilliam BarrUnited States Senator from Alabama33 more rows

Who is Matthew Whitaker's father?

Moses WhitakerEarly life and education. Whitaker was born in Hackensack, New Jersey to May and Moses Whitaker. Born three months prematurely, he weighed less than two pounds, and was given a less than 50 percent chance of survival.

Who was acting AG after Barr?

Jeffrey A. RosenPreceded byWilliam BarrSucceeded byMonty Wilkinson (acting)38th United States Deputy Attorney GeneralIn office May 22, 2019 – December 23, 202027 more rows

Are Jeff and Pete Sessions related?

Pete Sessions is not related to former Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Who is Jeff Sessions wife?

Mary Blackshear SessionsJeff Sessions / Wife (m. 1969)

How is US Attorney General chosen?

the president of the United StatesThe attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States. Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, then appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.

What did Whitaker say about the courts?

Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the decision that allows judicial review of the constitutionality of the acts of the other branches of government, and several other Supreme Court holdings. When Whitaker later became acting Attorney General four years later, Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe commented on Whita ker's views that "the overall picture he presents would have virtually no scholarly support", and that they would be "'destabilizing' to society if he used the power of the attorney general to advance them".

Why did Whitaker not recuse himself?

They also said that it was a "close call" and his decision, but in their opinion he "should recuse himself because 'a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts' would question his impartiality due to the statements he had made to the press." Whitaker decided not to recuse himself, not wanting to be the first attorney general "who had recused [himself] based on statements in the news media."

Where was Matthew Whitaker born?

Early life, education, and college football career. Matthew George Whitaker was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 29, 1969. He graduated from Ankeny High School, where he was a football star. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Who replaced Jody Hunt?

On September 22, 2017, a Justice Department official announced that Sessions was appointing Whitaker to replace Jody Hunt as his chief of staff. George J. Terwilliger III, a former U.S. attorney and deputy attorney general, said in his role as chief of staff, Whitaker would have dealt daily with making "substantive choices about what is important to bring to the AG".

Why did Whitaker join Trump's legal team?

Trump saw Whitaker's supportive commentaries on CNN in the summer of 2017, and in July White House counsel Don McGahn interviewed Whitaker to join Trump's legal team as an "attack dog" against Robert Mueller, who was heading the Special Counsel investigation. Trump associates believe Whitaker was later hired to limit the fallout of the investigation, including by reining in any Mueller report and preventing Trump from being subpoenaed. On November 13, a DOJ spokesperson said that Whitaker would seek advice from ethics officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) about whether a recusal from overseeing the Russia investigation was warranted.

What did Whitaker say about Mueller?

During a six-month span in 2017, Whitaker insisted that there was no obstruction of justice or collusion and criticized the initial appointment of the special counsel. He also called the probe "political" and "the left is trying to sow this theory that essentially Russians interfered with the U.S. election, which has been proven false". He also published an op-ed titled, "Mueller's Investigation of Trump Is Going Too Far" in which he expressed skepticism about the investigation generally and called the appointment of Mueller "ridiculous". He also retweeted a link to an article that referred to the investigation as a "lynch mob".

Who was the acting attorney general for Mueller?

With the resignation of Sessions on November 7, 2018, Whitaker was appointed to serve as Acting Attorney General under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. In that position, he directly supervised Robert Mueller 's Special Counsel investigation, which had previously been supervised by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in his role as Acting Attorney General, due to the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Who is Mike Whitaker?

Whitaker is a former college football player and a United States attorney from Iowa. He ran for Senate in 2014 but lost in the Republican primary. “You can trust me to fight for Iowa.”. Whitaker now has the power to impede the investigation or prevent special counsel Robert Mueller from delivering his final report.

Who is the acting attorney general of the United States?

Nov. 8, 2018. WASHINGTON — The acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, once espoused the view that the courts “are supposed to be the inferior branch” and criticized the Supreme Court’s power to review legislative and executive acts and declare them unconstitutional, the lifeblood of its existence as a coequal branch of government.

Overview

Career

After graduating from law school, Whitaker lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1995 to 2001, before moving back to Iowa.
Whitaker worked for a number of regional law firms, including Briggs & Morgan (Minneapolis) and Finley Alt Smith (Des Moines), and he was corporate counsel for national grocery store chain SuperValuin Minneapolis. He also owned or co …

Early life, education, and college football career

Matthew George Whitaker was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 29, 1969. He graduated from Ankeny High School, where he was a football star. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Whitaker attended the University of Iowa, receiving a bachelor's degree in communications in 1991 and Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor degrees in 1995.

Legal and policy views

Whitaker stated in a question-and-answer session during his 2014 Iowa Senatorial campaign that "the courts are supposed to be the inferior branch". Whitaker was critical of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the decision that allows judicial review of the constitutionality of the acts of the other branches of government, and several other Supreme Court holdings. When Whitaker later became acting Attorney General four years later, Harvard La…

Writings

• Above the Law: The Inside Story of How the Justice Department Tried to Subvert President Trump. Regnery Publishing. 2020. ISBN 978-1684510498.

See also

• Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (July–December 2018)