We are entering really dangerous territory as Justice Department ethics officials have consulted with Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker — you know the man that Trump handed the job as America’s top cop; the man who didn’t have to be confirmed or questioned by a congressional panel; the man who has gone on national TV noting how to end special counselor Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — and noted that he doesn’t have to recuse himself from get this...overseeing Mueller’s Russia investigation!
Since Keebler’s most highest elf, Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, Trump was pissed that he had appointed an Attorney General who didn’t have his back. Trump has always believed that the actual job of the Attorney General is to shield the president from lawsuits and the voice of the people calling for his impeachment. Basically, Trump believed that the AG’s job was to be his personal Michael Cohen.
Despite Sessions’ record for being a horrible human being who hates people of color and marijuana, he wasn’t willing to take a bullet for the president which lead to his Jazzy Jeff exit out of the Trump administration.
Well Whitaker couldn’t wait to become the official holder of the president’s balls and has been the Puff Daddy—all on the radio and all on the television—claiming that he doesn’t believe that there was any collusion with Russia.
See some of his greatest hits below.
From CNN:
The source added Whitaker has been in ongoing discussions with ethics officials since taking the job in early November following the ouster of Jeff Sessions, who had stepped aside from overseeing the investigation due to his role as a Trump campaign surrogate during the 2016 election.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversaw the investigation following Sessions’ recusal and his office is still managing the investigation on a day-to-day basis, as CNN has previously reported.
When, exactly, ethics officials signed off on Whitaker’s role was not immediately clear, but as of last month, he had not stepped aside from participating in significant developments in the Russia investigation. He was informed ahead of time that Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen would plead guilty to lying to Congress about the proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow.
Since Sessions recused himself, the job of overseeing the Special Counsel fell on the Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein. But now that Whitaker is acting Attorney General and does not have to recuse himself, he is now technically in charge of overseeing the Russia investigation and has the power to fire Mueller at will.
While Trump has nominated William Barr to be the next attorney general, he still must be confirmed. Barr would ultimately be responsible for overseeing the Mueller investigation, assuming of course that Whitaker doesn’t snatch Mueller’s funding and bleed him dry, a proposal he pushed as a way to effectively end the investigation.