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President Donald Trump defended his new Acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, as his opponents called for his recusal following the investigation of Russia.
Mr. Whitaker was appointed to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was fired Wednesday by Mr. Trump.
A controversy has erupted over Mr. Whitaker's earlier comments regarding the conclusion of the investigation into the alleged interference of Russia in favor of Mr. Trump's election in 2016.
As a senior law enforcement official, Mr. Whitaker could take charge of the investigation.
Special advocate Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia on behalf of the Justice Ministry.
Currently, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversees Mr. Mueller's investigation – a role he played when Mr. Sessions challenged him.
Critics have referred to some of Whitaker's remarks on CNN last year regarding the interruption of Mr. Mueller's investigation as a reason to remove him from any surveillance role.
On Friday, Trump told reporters that Mr. Whitaker was "a highly respected man" whose selection "was praised", while making sure to stand out from his new incumbent.
"I do not know Matt Whitaker," Mr Trump said, asking questions about how he might influence the investigation of Russia.
But the president has probably had many interactions with Whitaker, the US media said in his capacity as Jeff Sessions' chief of staff.
"Commenting on emissions does not mean you're not qualified," Trump said. "You had no problem with him when he worked for Sessions."
- Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions
- "One step closer to the crisis" – the whole reaction
Why was Jeff Sessions fired?
Earlier this week, even before the dust began to weigh on the mid-term election results in November, Mr. Sessions, long-time at war, issued a letter confirming that he was unemployed.
"On your request," Mr. Sessions wrote to President Trump, "I am resigning."
A few minutes later, the President announced his replacement via Twitter"We are pleased to announce that Matthew G Whitaker, Chief of Staff of Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States and will serve our country well …"
The 48-year-old former football star has long been seen as destined to play a bigger role in the Trump administration, favorably viewed by the president.
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Douglas Graham
Matthew Whitaker replaces his former boss, Jeff Sessions
Who is Matthew Whitaker?
Mr. Whitaker hails from Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines in central Iowa, son of a primary school teacher and a salesman of blackboards. 39; display.
He became a high school football star and was eventually inducted into the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame. In the 1990s, he played in the tightest part of the Iowa Hawkeyes Holiday Bowl and Rose Bowl.
Whitaker graduated from the University of Iowa's Faculty of Law and then practiced law as a legal counsel for a grocery chain.
President George W Bush appointed him US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, where he sued the perpetrators of white-collar crimes and drug trafficking. He held this position from 2004 to 2009.
His wife Marci is a civil engineer and the couple has three children.
Political life
Mr. Whitaker first embarked on a public office in 2002, while he was Republican nominee to the Treasurer of the State of Iowa. He went to the US Senate in 2014, losing the party nomination to Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
In his campaigns, Mr. Whitaker has positioned himself as a financially conservative opponent of the Affordable Care Act and said his political models were Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. He wooed the anti-abortion Christian evangelical vote, declaring at a candidate's forum that he would review candidates for the post of federal judge to make sure they had a "biblical vision" of Justice".
He then strengthened his conservative skills when he was co-chair of Texas Governor Rick Perry's campaign in 2012 and became executive director of the conservative monitoring group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust in Washington DC.
He was hired as Sessions Chief of Staff in October 2017.
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Chip Somodevilla
Whitaker participates in a roundtable of the US Department of Justice
From Commentator to Acting Attorney General
Prior to joining Mr. Sessions, Mr. Whitaker was a conservative legal commentator for CNN. He has written several opinion pieces that could shed light on how he might approach his new role in the Justice Department, particularly with regard to his possible supervision of the Russian investigation into the interference. election led by special advocate Robert Mueller.
In July 2017, Mr. Whitaker appeared on CNN and discussed the different ways in which President Trump could crush the probe, including the departure of Mr. Sessions.
"I could consider a scenario in which Jeff Sessions would be replaced by a judicial vacation appointment and that the Attorney General does not fire Bob Mueller, but he simply reduces his budget to such a low level that his investigation is almost suspended," he said. Mr. Whitaker.
In August 2017, Mr. Whitaker wrote an article entitled "Mueller's investigation of Trump goes too far". Mr. Whitaker explained that Mr. Mueller had gone beyond the limits of his investigation when he began to examine the finances of the Trump family. He called it a "red line" that Mr. Mueller should not cross, warning that it would turn the inquiry into a "witch hunt" – a term that the president himself is very fond of.
"The Trump organization's business relationship is clearly not part of the scope of the investigation and should not be either," wrote Whitaker.
Rumors that Mr. Whitaker would one day play a more central role in the Justice Department have been brewing for months. An article in the Washington Post said that he had spoken directly to Donald Trump as early as October to replace his own boss, while the president continued to publicly complain about the way Jeff Sessions had treated him. Russian investigation.
After a New York Times article reported that Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein had considered wearing a thread to monitor Trump in the early days of his presidency, Mr. Whitaker was discussed as a possible replacement for M Rosenstein. Mr. Rosenstein offered to resign but finally retained his position.
According to the Times, Mr. Whitaker would have used what could have been a delicate task to bridge his boss, besieged Attorney General sessions and a hostile white house to have fun with the President.
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