Mueller could sue Trump or Whitaker in federal court, and have the justice system step in and rule on any firing. Although Mueller is known as an “independent counsel,” he’s not independent in the sense that he is operating on his own. Rather, his independence refers to his lack of conflicts …
Nov 08, 2018 · Newly anointed acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker has said there is “certainly” a legal way for president Trump to fire special counsel Robert Mueller—and that it wouldn’t constitute ...
May 27, 2020 · Mr. Whitaker: So if you remember, General [Jeff] Sessions had recused from the investigation, and since I was his chief of staff starting in October of 2017, his recusal applied to me as well ...
Nov 08, 2018 · The Trump administration's shake-up on Wednesday, in which Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired, is raising concerns that Whitaker's appointment constitutes a …
Other Watergate lawyers also went to jail for conspiring in Nixon’s efforts to obstruct justice. John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s counsel, was found guilty of obstruction, perjury, and conspiracy in the burglary and then served 18 months. Ehrlichman’s aide, Egil Krogh, had approved the burglary of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office after the release of the Pentagon Papers, and Nixon’s special counsel Charles Colson also helped organize that crime. Krogh was sentenced to two to six years, served 4½ months, and was disbarred. Colson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and served seven months.
Other Watergate lawyers also went to jail for conspiring in Nixon’s efforts to obstruct justice. John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s counsel, was found guilty of obstruction, perjury, and conspiracy in the burglary and then served 18 months. Ehrlichman’s aide, Egil Krogh, had approved the burglary of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office after the release of the Pentagon Papers, and Nixon’s special counsel Charles Colson also helped organize that crime. Krogh was sentenced to two to six years, served 4½ months, and was disbarred. Colson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and served seven months.
Mueller, President Donald Trump took to Twitter with a message that reads, in part, “NO OBSTRUCTION!”. That’s not at all what the Mueller report says, though.
Mueller, President Donald Trump took to Twitter with a message that reads, in part, “NO OBSTRUCTION!”. That’s not at all what the Mueller report says, though. “Our investigation found multiple acts by the President that were capable ...
Mueller, however, refrained from recommending prosecution, saying that there were “difficult [legal] issues that would need to be resolved,” in order to reach a conclusion that the crime of obstruction of justice was committed by Trump.
Mueller emphasized, however, that his analysis of the evidence did not clear the president of obstruction. Said Mueller: “ [I]f we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.
This includes Trump’s efforts to prevent and then reverse then-Attorney General Jeff Session’s decision to recuse himself on issues related to the Russia investigation, as well as multiple attempts by the president to convince officials to make statements to the public clarifying that the FBI was not personally investigating him.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller the special counsel to oversee the Russia inquiry on May 17, 2017. Trump’s reaction to the appointment, according to the report, was to say, “This is the end of my Presidency.”. He also became angry with Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation.
But Trump advisers told him that those did not count as conflicts, and the Justice Department also said that Mueller’s previous legal work would not prevent him from acting as special counsel. Trump, the report indicates, still directed McGahn to talk to Rosenstein about the issue, which McGhan declined to do.
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".
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.
While attending the University of Iowa, Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, including in the 1991 Rose Bowl . In 2002, Whitaker was the candidate of the Republican Party for Treasurer of Iowa.
Whitaker played in 33 games, including two bowl games, and made 21 receptions for a total of 203 yards, scoring two touchdowns. In 1993, he received the Big Ten Medal of Honor for proficiency in scholarship and athletics awarded each year to one male and one female student-athlete at each Big Ten Conference school.
In 2017, FTC investigators examined whether Whitaker had played any role in making threats of legal action to silence the company's critics. Whitaker rebuffed an FTC subpoena for records in October 2017, shortly after he had joined the Department of Justice.
One month prior to joining the Justice Department, he wrote an opinion column for CNN titled "Mueller's Investigation of Trump is Going Too Far".
For four months, from June to September 2017, Whitaker was a CNN contributor. One month prior to joining the Justice Department, he wrote an opinion column for CNN titled "Mueller's Investigation of Trump is Going Too Far". He retweeted a link to an article that stated that Mueller's investigation was a "lynch mob", that it should be limited, and that it should not probe into Trump's finances.