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(Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post)
President Trump has ousted his Attorney General and replaced him with a loyalist who will now oversee the investigation of special advocate Robert S. Mueller III. Speculation is rife: Will the new Acting Attorney General set fire to Mueller? Constrain his investigation? Should Mueller's conclusions be made public?
We do not know if Matthew Whitaker, Trump's replacement for Jeff Sessions, will move on. But here's something we can conclude now: Trump has surely chosen Whitaker, the Sessions chief of staff, expressly to put him in the position to be able to do it.
Unlike the Sessions, which withdrew from the investigation, Whitaker will oversee it, while before that, it was Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. Whitaker may theoretically terminate Mueller on grounds that meet the requirements of the "cause" regulation, or may revoke such regulation. Or it can severely limit the scope of the investigation, or deprive it of funds.
Ask yourself: What would it look like if the Republicans had held the House? We would conclude that Trump is taking steps to close or limit the investigation, or to conceal the results, knowing that Republicans in Congress will let him get away with it. That's why it's good that the Democrats captured the House.
At his press conference on Wednesday following the victory of the Democratic Party, Trump was unleashed against the investigation. He said that if the Democrats in the House were investigating his administration – an activity known as congressional oversight – the White House could retaliate by investigating the Democrats. Trump promised a "warlike stance". This lays the groundwork for a radical resistance to what the Democrats will do in response to Trump's actions against the Mueller probe.
So what can Democrats do in these scenarios, once they are in the majority? Here is an overview:
Chamber Democrats can investigate dismissals of sessions. The question of whether Trump fired sessions or whether the sessions simply resigned is crucial. If Trump dismissed sessions, he might not be right to replace him with an Acting Attorney General (Whitaker) who did not require confirmation from the Senate (which Trump may have wanted to do to prevent the instead of questioning his intention to do so (Mueller Probe). It is conceivable that Mueller could challenge the court appointment if Whitaker tried to close or severely restrain the probe.
Although the White House claims that the sessions have resigned at "Trump's request," it seems obvious that Trump fired him. La Post reported that the sessions thought that staying would protect "the integrity of the investigation", which would leave the country "better served", its conclusions being "more credible to the American public". So, Democrats in the House can try to investigate the circumstances that led to the situation. to the "resignation" of Sessions to determine if Sessions resisted and was fired.
"The reason would be that they were investigating whether Sessions had been fired as part of a plot to obstruct justice," said Josh Chafetz, a professor at Cornell Law. School. "This could lead to requests for documents and testimonials."
Surrender assignments itself. House Democrats can ask themselves about the sessions, both about the circumstances in which he was sacked and, more broadly, about private meetings at which Trump raged during sessions not to To have protected from the investigation. Sessions would likely affirm the executive's privilege regarding his conversations with Trump.
But the Democrats have a recourse. They can "organize sessions and make him refuse to answer questions live, on television," Chafetz said. "Then, after some discussion, if the Democrats deem that assertion of privilege is abusive, they can hold it in contempt." That would not do much good, but at least the Sessions show refusing to tell if Trump forced him out and why would be dramatized for the country.
The conclusions of the assignment Mueller. Under the rules governing the special advocate, he must provide a "confidential" report explaining his findings to the person responsible for overseeing the investigation – who would have been Rosenstein but who will now be Whitaker. It was then Whitaker who was supposed to report to the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, leaving him plenty of room to decide how much to put in this report.
Whitaker could theoretically report little to nothing, effectively concealing what Mueller has learned. "Democrats could quote Mueller's findings," Chafetz told me. "But expect the White House to fight in response to the subpoena." Other legal experts believe that if the White House challenges such a summons, the courts would rule against them, which means that Congress would get Mueller's findings.
As Chafetz has written elsewhere, Democrats need to think about how to use these procedures to inform the public about what is happening, for political and political reasons.
Prevent the Acting Attorney General. It's a far-fetched scenario, but it's not an impossibility. In the current state of affairs, Whitaker publicly expressed the opinion that Mueller had gone too far in analyzing Trump's finances and had openly suggested that one of the options was to reduce the funds of the investigation. For these reasons, the Democrats called for his challenge.
The irony is at the rendezvous. A handful of House Republicans loyal to Trump have attempted to challenge Rosenstein earlier this year on grounds so specious that even many Republicans, including leaders, have rejected it. It is difficult to say what circumstances might justify such action against Whitaker, if any, but if he closes Mueller's investigation without just cause, it could be perceived as an extremely serious misconduct – far more serious than Republicans have alleged against Rosenstein.
Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western University, points out that there are other forms of misconduct that Whitaker could commit. Whether or not his public opinion deserves recusation, he must always seek ethical advice from the Department of Justice on the advisability of overseeing the investigation. "Rosenstein did that, and some Republicans have called for his removal," notes Adler. "If Whitaker does not take the same prudent step, it would be inexcusable."
It seems clear that once the Democrats take power in the House, we will be heading for a major escalation of hostilities. Trump is already testing to see what he can do with, so it's good that Democratic leaders just responded with a letter calling on Republicans to hold urgent hearings on Trump's decision, arguing that the nomination Whitaker precipitates a "constitutional crisis". will shrug, but this suggests that Democrats recognize the gravity of the moment and organize themselves to react accordingly.
Read more:
Greg Sargent: Trump just reminded us that he's still a dangerous crazy crazy authoritarian
La Poste's point of view: Jeff Sessions' ousting is not surprising. But it's still shocking.
Do not panic after Jeff Sessions leaves – at least not yet
Cartoons: Mandate of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General
Do GOP senators have the courage to fight for our democracy?
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