update 12/4/18
Proud to have signed this. And in case anyone’s wondering, this isn’t normal. DOJ alums regularly signing letters by the hundreds protesting department actions didn’t happen during the Obama admin or in previous admins that I’m aware of. https://t.co/66FhupwXbj
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 4, 2018
How Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker is even more Nixonian than Nixon: https://t.co/bUQ4eCJWWx pic.twitter.com/ppYQPLW8k3
— Slate (@Slate) November 15, 2018
We @CREWcrew are not going to normalize this. A president can't pick his own prosecutor in his own case. Especially a prosecutor who has already prejudged the matter–and has conflicted relationships with those involved. That's corruption, not rule of law: https://t.co/1a5Gn7AyMo
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) November 15, 2018
It's as bad as it looks. Trump hired Mark Whitaker at DOJ for exactly the reasons you suspect. https://t.co/kuFCdPqo2u pic.twitter.com/eCvJOS379k
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) November 15, 2018
Though modestly titled, this is an imposingly comprehensive dissection of the legality of Whitaker’s appointment. I disagree with key parts of it but agree that the 1898 Eaton precedent invoked by OLC actually HURTS Trump’s constitutional case. @jedshug https://t.co/RZkaFTxB5N
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 15, 2018
‘He was yelling’: Whitaker pushed back against early fraud complaints about company he advised via @thamburger @CarolLeonnig @PostRoz https://t.co/CTLPQVdlUR
— Brooke Anne Lorenz (@BrookeLorenz) November 15, 2018
Trump has another Lester Holt moment, this one even more explicitly admitting that he swapped out Sessions for Whitaker because he sees the whole Mueller investigation as illegal despite what courts have held. https://t.co/7vlAzyUvTI
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 15, 2018
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is a climate skeptic who thinks investigating Big Oil is unconstitutional: https://t.co/qwEaHphrNz pic.twitter.com/izgpSUKswS
— Slate (@Slate) November 15, 2018
The nation’s top attorney was also no standout lawyer when Bush appointee him US attorney in Iowa: Whitaker cited a personal-injury case and a dispute involving a dry-cleaning business as his most consequential legal work. By @ShawnBoburg and @robertoharrow
— Aaron C. Davis (@byaaroncdavis) November 15, 2018
First time Trump has referred to “inner workings” of Mueller investigation. What has his hatchet man Matt Whitaker told him? Whitaker now probably has full access to the files. https://t.co/G10GSu21QM
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) November 15, 2018
There is an easy way Whitaker can credibly assure all of us that he won't interfere with the Mueller probe: recuse. https://t.co/KLj7Ouqxfk
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) November 15, 2018
DOJ also keeps attributing denials to Whitaker. This is what WH staff do when they don’t want false denials/conspiracy theories to blow back on them. https://t.co/n3vDbQrHcq pic.twitter.com/OSfZWZaq9Z
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 15, 2018
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article referred to Matthew Whitaker as a football "star." With 200 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons at Iowa, it appears he was an unspectacular player.
We regret the error. https://t.co/GY9WeYfLMb
— Esquire (@esquire) November 14, 2018
Matthew Whitaker has denied, through a DOJ spokesperson, being aware of World Patent Marketing’s alleged fraud.
Turns out he fought back against such allegations when they appeared on a website. https://t.co/QJaolPVshj
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 15, 2018
Did they vet him? At all?https://t.co/XeMbR1wrGE
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) November 13, 2018
The chief law enforcement officer of the United States was a board member for a company that "wanted to create an entire community around Bigfoot believers called Squatch World, including hosting a celebrity event called 'You Have Been Squatched!'" This is real life. https://t.co/tGy4yuq5OU
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) November 15, 2018
NEW: Deep scrub of Whitaker shows his shorthand bio – US Atty – is an aberration. He’s an entrepreneur who has over promised and has ended up in court defending his ventures, including a concrete supply business, a trailer manufacturer and day-care center. https://t.co/6jqCaCKx8j
— Aaron C. Davis (@byaaroncdavis) November 15, 2018
Sad! 