Now Trump lies and says he doesn’t know him. They sure didn’t do enough to vet his history and past comments.
“Intellectually honest conservatives… need to say this, loudly. His appointment represents an unprecedented assault on the integrity and reputation of the Justice Department, the advice and consent function of the Senate, and the rule of law in the United States.” https://t.co/cFv7q27IR3
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) November 10, 2018
New acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was previously a dark-money-funded Clinton antagonist: https://t.co/iTlXUT5EPi pic.twitter.com/OG1WvdHvyz
— Slate (@Slate) November 9, 2018
Trump’s newly appointed Acting AG, Matthew Whitaker, while president of a nonprofit in 2016, exclusively hired contractors dominated by Republican operatives — one of whom became a top Treasury Dept official under Trump, I found: https://t.co/SteaHXdWw6 pic.twitter.com/8IoaxxD1Vw
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) November 9, 2018
Of note: He made the Oct. 11 comment while trashing a Wash Post story that he was considering replacing Sessions with Whitaker. https://t.co/MRW5soR70r
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) November 9, 2018
I agree with @neal_katyal that lots of folks have standing to get a judicial ruling that Whitaker’s installation as acting AG is unconstitutional. But I think the reasoning needs to include a few added steps to pass muster with a very conservative court. Not to worry: It’ll work. https://t.co/yDpwWe3JG0
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 9, 2018
"People close to the president said Mr. Whitaker first came to the attention of Mr. Trump because he liked watching Mr. Whitaker express skepticism about aspects of Mr. Mueller’s investigation on television."https://t.co/CnWjgxqUsX https://t.co/4GOSMlyj8i
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) November 9, 2018
Sen. Susan Collins: "I am concerned about comments that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has made… I believe that we should bring to the Senate floor legislation that would put restrictions on the ability of President Donald Trump to fire the Special Counsel." pic.twitter.com/gmpxg40zDE
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 9, 2018
New: Facing interference from Whitaker, Mueller could turn to the courts. One route: Defy Whitaker directly & let a fed court decide whether Whitaker is Mueller’s legitimate boss. (Experts are skeptical that the courts would side with Trump on this one.) https://t.co/PV82eTZ3e9
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) November 9, 2018
The appointment of Whitaker as Acting AG, someone with a history of attacks on Mueller, is a transparent effort to interfere with the impartial administration of justice.
Take notice: We will expose any effort to obstruct justice, and people will be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/1hiIYqMBBk
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 9, 2018
Matthew Whitaker, the new acting US attorney general, has made his verified Twitter account private. https://t.co/qjI0ygmshC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 9, 2018
As a Senate candidate, Whitaker said he could not support "secular" judicial nominees and that courts should be "inferior branch" https://t.co/Jfsnuv3dtC
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 9, 2018
CREW has filed an ethics complaint with the Justice Department demanding Matthew Whitaker's recusal. https://t.co/9IRixoXhGH
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 9, 2018
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just called Matt Whitaker “a superb choice for attorney general,” saying Whitaker “certainly understands the work, understands the priorities of the department.” Then I asked him if he’s worried at all about the Mueller probe. He walked off.
— Mike Levine (@MLevineReports) November 9, 2018
NEW, with @samstein: Sen. Richard Blumenthal confirms he's considering suing over Matt Whitaker's appointment as acting AG https://t.co/YcS1gXXglq
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) November 9, 2018
There is literally audio and video of Trump saying he knows Matt Whitaker last month. Today, he says he does not know him. https://t.co/nFSixOba2l
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) November 9, 2018
NEW… Justice Department officials trash Matt Whitaker, their new boss: "he’s a fucking fool." https://t.co/5LYCG1CtPI
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) November 9, 2018
Acting AG Whitaker's hostility to the Special Counsel’s investigation disqualifies him from overseeing Robert Mueller. We are leading 18 state attorneys general in calling on Whitaker to recuse himself immediately. #ProtectMueller pic.twitter.com/G7vzxSEbcl
— Maura Healey (@MassAGO) November 8, 2018
Today, Trump said: "I don't know Matt Whitaker."
In a Fox and Friends interview a month ago, Trump said: "I know Matt Whitaker."
(Via @JustinFishelABC) pic.twitter.com/aZHLqz6dMu
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2018
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) November 9, 2018
Sad! 