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WASHINGTON – On Thursday, a senior justice official traveled downtown Washington, as he does every two weeks, to the offices of Robert S. Mueller III to verify the progress of the investigation. special advocate. This visit is the first since President Trump installed a loyalist at the top of the department to take charge of an investigation that he is passionate about.
The new Acting Attorney General, Matthew G. Whitaker, will oversee the investigation as Mueller and his team make a number of critical decisions over the coming weeks: indicting more of Trump's associates, summoning the president for compel them to sit down for an interview and ask if they should be lenient in front of a judge when Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort and other former Trump aides are sentenced.
Much remains unclear about the active role Mr. Whitaker will play in overseeing the work of the Special Council. Rod J. Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General, oversaw the process and sent a senior associate, Ed O'Callaghan, to Mueller's office every two weeks, according to a department official. But the dismissal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions by Mr. Trump and the choice of Mr. Whitaker, who has always been loyal to the White House and has written critical statements about Mr. Mueller's work, have created a future uncertain for an investigation that would have been somewhat protected from political influence.
New evidence emerged on Thursday that Whitaker has already decided on the answer to the central question in Mueller's investigation. In an interview last year, reported for the first time by the Daily Beast, Mr. Whitaker categorically stated: "The truth is that there was no collusion with the Russians and the Trump campaign. "
In the absence of any sign that Mr. Whitaker is recusing himself to oversee the investigation, his overt hostility to Mr. Mueller 's investigation has caused the Democrats to fear he does not attempt to sabotage it. At a court hearing on Thursday, a member of Mr. Mueller's team pointed out that the Acting Attorney General was directly supervising their work.
"He is aware of what we do. He may ask questions, "said Michael R. Dreeben, one of the lawyers working for Mr. Mueller, about Mr. Whitaker. "It's not true that the special advocate is in a floating environment."
Democrats in the House said they would vigorously protect Mr. Mueller's investigation – or even try to keep a version of it after they took power in January if the justice department stopped him.
At a teleconference Thursday afternoon, House MPs discussed the steps to be taken, according to one of the legislators who participated, speaking on condition of anonymity. to describe the internal discussion. The call was led by California Representative Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democratic Party, as well as senior Democratic officials on the committees overseeing the investigation: Jerrold Nadler from the Judiciary Committee, Adam B. Schiff from the Intelligence Committee and Elijah Cummings of the Government's Monitoring and Reform Committee.
The legislator indicated that the resolution was intended, among other things, to protect Mr. Mueller's work and to insert wording in the end-of-year spending bills required to isolate the inquiry by judicial review and require the retention of documents. essential.
"We will examine all the measures taken to hinder the Mueller investigation. For the new Acting Attorney General, he must understand that we will be watching for any measures that he or others might take to impede the administration of justice, "Mr. Schiff said in an interview.
He added that the Democrats were anxious to know if Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Whitaker to pledge not to recuse himself from the investigation of Russia, regardless of any advice from lawyers specializing in the investigation of Russia. ethics.
Mr. Whitaker appeared eager to please the President at meetings in the Oval Office, according to two people with direct knowledge of his visits. During these discussions, they appeared to agree with Mr. Trump when the president denounced the Mueller investigation.
On the night of the election, as he was returning, showing some evidence that the Republican majority in the Senate was likely to increase, Mr. Trump seemed emboldened, according to people close to his discussions. He told his close associates that he wanted to quickly obtain the letter of resignation from Mr. Sessions. Still, the speed with which he was surprised surprised some of Mr. Trump's associates.
Mr. Trump's lawyers spent almost a year negotiating the terms of a presidential interview with the special council. Both parties apparently reached an agreement in September that would allow Mr Trump to answer written questions about Russia, but the lawyers have still not sent the answers to the special advocate's office.
If Mr. Mueller makes every effort to get Mr. Trump to answer the questions, he may ask to summon the President to appear. If Mr. Whitaker orders Mr. Mueller to stay out of business, he could force Justice officials to inform Congress whenever his officials reject Mr. Mueller's request for major investigative measures. .
If Mr. Mueller were to challenge Mr. Whitaker 's order and ask for a subpoena anyway, Mr. Whitaker could try to fire him.
Prior to joining the Department of Justice last year, he was Mr. Sessions' Chief of Staff, Mr. Whitaker suggested to CNN that the special advocate's investigation could be curbed simply by depriving the finance office. But that would be complicated.
Mr. Mueller submitted his budget several months ago for the fiscal year beginning last month and the regulations of the Department of Justice required Mr. Sessions to follow up on it. The survey is funded directly by the Treasury Department and not by the Department of Justice budget.
If Mr. Whitaker tries to guide the course of the investigation, he may find that it is easier to intervene in cases where prosecutors still do not have initiated criminal proceedings. Prosecutors often disagree on the strength of evidence and the possibility of winning a case. Although Mr. Rosenstein was said to be comfortable enough to trust Mr. Mueller, Mr. Whitaker might be much more willing to challenge his decision to sue or not someone else.
Thursday's appeal court hearing emphasized Mr. Mueller's ability to act independently of the Department of Justice supervisors. At the start of this hearing – the challenge of a subpoena by a witness that Mr. Mueller is trying to force to testify before a grand jury – Judge Karen L. Henderson has asked lawyers on both sides to speak as if the dismissal of Mr. Sessions had taken place. had not arrived yet.
But the court was clearly aware of the consequences of Mr. Trump's installation of Mr. Whitaker at the top of the Mueller inquiry. Judge Henderson said the panel of appeals judges would likely ask lawyers on both sides to make additional submissions about the move.
At the hearing, Mr. Dreeben pointed out that under the regulations, Mr. Rosenstein had indicated that the Acting Attorney General could be dismissed by an Acting Attorney General in the event of a refusal to grant an order "lawful under the Regulations". could also remove the protections provided by the regulations and then dismiss Mr. Mueller without any reason, he said.
But Mr. Dreeben also suggested that as long as the settlement continues to protect Mr. Mueller, the Acting Attorney General could not overturn the Special Advocate's decisions regarding routine actions under the discretion of the Department of Justice. Justice, such as granting immunity to a witness, entering into a plea agreement or issuing an indictment.
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