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President Trump spoke to reporters on Friday before boarding his trip to Europe. The president stated that he did not know the acting Attorney General that he had previously described as "good guy".
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
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Mark Wilson / Getty Images
President Trump spoke to reporters on Friday before boarding his trip to Europe. The president stated that he did not know the acting Attorney General that he had previously described as "good guy".
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Updated at 15:54
President Trump defended his selection of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday as new questions arose about Whitaker's suitability for the position and whether his appointment was legal.
Trump appointed Whitaker to acting on Wednesday after abruptly ousting Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In doing so, the President passed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, installing a nominated political figure and criticizing Special Advocate Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Trump, who has frequently described the investigation as a "witch hunt", claimed to ignore Whitaker's antecedents.
"I do not know Matt Whitaker," Trump told the press on Friday as he was leaving the White House for a trip to Paris. "Matt Whitaker worked for Jeff Sessions, and he has always been extremely appreciated and still is, but I did not know Matt Whitaker."
In fact, Trump has met his chosen appointed person more than a dozen times. As the chief of staff of the sessions, Whitaker would have accompanied his boss to the oval office several times.
"Matt Whitaker is a great guy, I mean, I know Matt Whitaker," Trump told Fox News last month. By that time, Trump had also avoided asking himself when he was preparing to get rid of Sessions.
"I'm not doing anything," he said. "I want the elections to be over, we'll see what happens."
The dismissal of the sessions took place one day after the counting of the mid-term votes.
Trump would be a fan of Whitaker's appearances on cable television before joining the Department of Justice. Whitaker expressed doubts about the breadth and direction of the investigation into Russia and suggested that a future Attorney General could put a damper on Mueller by cutting funding for the company. 39; investigation.
Trump has recruited several veterans of cable television to hold senior positions in his administration – including communications director Bill Shine, former Fox News member, secretary of state department Heather Nauert, also of Fox and CNBC Chief Economist Larry Kudlow.
On Friday, as he was leaving for Paris, the president rejected the argument that Whitaker's earlier comments could prevent him from overseeing the special council.
"I see different people at different times during concerts, am I supposed to say," Oh, now he's never qualified to sit in the government? "" Asked Trump. "You would not have anyone to choose from, you would have absolutely no one."
When a reporter asked Trump if he wanted the acting Attorney General to hold back Mueller, the president replied, "What a stupid question."
Challenge
Many Democrats and some Republicans are asking the same question.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Wrote a pointed letter to the president asking him if he discussed the issue of special advice with Whitaker prior to his appointment this week, and whether Trump asked for or received a Whitaker loyalty promise.
Schumer also asked Trump for "specific reasons" for which he had installed Whitaker in the Attorney General's office rather than Rosenstein, the next in the line of successors.
Some legal analysts believe that this choice could be illegal because, unlike Rosenstein, Whitaker has not been confirmed by the Senate.
Trump tried to deflect this argument, noting that the Senate had not weighed in on Mueller's appointment either. There is no such requirement for special advice.
"Do not talk to me about Whitaker," says Trump, "because Mueller has not been confirmed by the Senate."
Some members of Congress discussed the upcoming reactivation of a bill that would devote Mueller protection. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, for example, said Friday that she would support a bill that would require a Senate-confirmed leader to dismiss the special advocate alone.
Trump added that Whitaker had been confirmed for a previous job – as a US Attorney in Iowa.
"Being an American prosecutor is best," Trump said. "He was a very distinguished American lawyer in Iowa and he was approved by everyone." Whitaker was US Attorney in Iowa from 2004 to 2009. He then ran unsuccessfully in the Senate and ran a conservative watch group.
Whitaker also served on the advisory board of a patent promotion company that disbursed nearly $ 26 million to settle the fraud charges. The company admitted to having committed no wrongdoing and Whitaker was not named personally in the investigation of the Federal Trade Commission.
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