what whitaker say us attorney general could do

Is Matthew Whitaker's appointment as Attorney General Legal?

“This Office previously had advised that the President could designate a senior Department of Justice Official, such as Mr. Whitaker as Acting Attorney General,” the OLC said, noting that ...

Did Matthew Whitaker say Jews should not be federal judges?

Nov 13, 2018 · While President Trump searches for a permanent appointment for attorney general — something Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham says will likely happen "early next year" — Whitaker oversees special ...

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

Mar 04, 2019 · FILE PHOTO: Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February ...

Who is Matthew Whitaker and what did he do?

A 20-page OLC opinion authored by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, released by the Justice Department on Wednesday, states that OLC had “previously advised that the President could designate a senior Department of Justice official, …

Could he fire Mueller?

In short, "Yes. But he needs to find good cause to do so," said Rebecca Lonergan, a former assistant U.S. Attorney who now teaches at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.

Could Whitaker cut Mueller's budget?

Whitaker certainly seems to think he could cut slash Mueller's budget. In July 2017, he told CNN's Don Lemon he could envision a scenario in which the "attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigations grind to almost a halt."

Could he control the scope of Mueller's investigation?

Whitaker has certainly been critical of the scope of Mueller's investigation, writing an entire op-ed for CNN on that topic last year.

What's the deal with recusal?

Democrats are urging Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller probe due to his past critical comments. But Whitaker hasn't made any indication he will do so, and it seems less likely he would do so after Mr. Trump repeatedly blasted Sessions for his recusal, even claiming that he had no attorney general.

What about Whitaker's appointment in the first place?

Still, Whitaker's appointment itself is facing legal questions. Maryland's attorney general has already filed a lawsuit claiming Whitaker's appointment is "illegal and unconstitutional."

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".

Is Whitaker a CNN contributor?

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.

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.

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.

Was the appointment of the Assistant Attorney General constitutional?

In a 2018 opinion, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) said that the appointment was constitutional due to its temporary nature. The OLC noted that an assistant attorney general who was not confirmed by the Senate had been appointed as acting Attorney General in 1866, and that other individuals not confirmed by the Senate had served as principal officers in an acting capacity more than 160 times between 1809 and 1860, and at least nine times during the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations.

Who was John Yoo?

Law professor John Yoo from Berkeley, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel in the George W. Bush administration, argued that the Appointments Clause renders the Federal Vacancies Reform Act unconstitutional and that Whitaker's appointment was in violation of that clause.

Early Life, Education, and College Football Career

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