Democratic Senators Prosecute to Prevent Whitaker from Serving as AG

A group of three Senate Democrats are taking legal action to challenge President Donald Trump's appointment of Matt Whitaker as Acting Attorney General, arguing that the decision was unconstitutional.

Detectives Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) filed a complaint with the Columbia District Court on Monday, saying Trump had violated the appointment clause . of the Constitution by choosing Whitaker for a Cabinet position, even though Whitaker was never confirmed in the Senate. The complaint is to prevent Whitaker from assuming his duties, including overseeing the investigation by Special Advocate Robert Mueller into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.

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Trump ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions on November 7, after more than a year of tension, and announced that Whitaker, the Sessions Chief of Staff, would assume his duties until a permanent replacement was appointed. Whitaker was criticized for his public statements, which expressed his opposition to the Mueller inquiry, and House Democrats threatened to drag Whitaker off the hill for questioning once they were in the majority.

Opponents also called Whitaker a Trump loyalist. Although he was supported by Republican Republicans in Congress, his appointment revived bipartisan calls for legislation that would protect Mueller from outside interference in the investigation.

Trump said that he did not know Whitaker's view of Mueller's investigation before appointing him to the post but that he said in an interview this weekend that he "would not be involved" in the handling of the investigation by Whitaker.

Hirono said in a statement on Monday that the nomination clause prohibited Whitaker from acting as Acting Attorney General, saying that "the main officers reporting directly to the President must be the subject of a hearing and must be confirmed by the Senate ".

The appointment of Whitaker was also challenged on the grounds of a law governing the order of succession within the Department of Justice, which states that the Deputy Attorney General should take over in case of vacancy of his position , although Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said he supports the appointment of Whitaker. The Office of the Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice said in a memo last week that the appointment of Whitaker was sound and under the authority of the President.

Monday's lawsuit is the second legal challenge to the constitutionality of Whitaker's appointment, after the state of Maryland last week urged a federal judge to prevent Whitaker from serving for the same reasons.

"The installation of Matthew Whitaker so flagrantly defies the constitutional right that any viewer of School House Rock would recognize. Americans appreciate a system of checks and balances, which is betrayed by the dictatorial appointment of President Trump, "said Blumenthal, claiming that it bypassed the issue of Whitaker's confirmation because" Whitaker would never pass the test of consent.

The prosecution of senators will be entrusted to Protect Democracy and the Constitutional Accountability Center, they said.