Democratic U. S. Senators have filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney genera
Democratic Senators have filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped down earlier this month.
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island filed the suit on Nov. 19, arguing that Whitaker’s appointment violates the Constitution because he hasn’t yet been confirmed by the Senate. They’re all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The complaint, filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, is asking a judge to declare his appointment unconstitutional and seeks to prevent him from serving as the nation’s chief lawyer.
He was chief of staff under Sessions and was made the head of the Department of Justice after Sessions stepped down on Nov. 7.
“The U. S. Senate has not consented to Mr. Whitaker serving in any office within the federal government, let alone the highest office of the DOJ,” the three Democrats said on Nov. 19.
“Indeed, before deciding whether to give their consent to Mr. Whitaker serving in such a role, Plaintiffs and other members of the Senate would have the opportunity to consider his espoused legal views, his affiliation with a company that is under criminal investigation for defrauding consumers, and his public comments criticizing and proposing to curtail ongoing DOJ investigations that implicate the President,” they added.
“We are left with no choice but to seek recourse through the courts,” Blumenthal also wrote in a Twitter post.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel last week issued an opinion supporting Trump’s appointment of Whitaker, saying it’s consistent with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (VRA) of 1998.
“This Office previously had advised that the President could designate a senior Department of Justice Official, such as Mr. Whitaker as Acting Attorney General,” the Office of Legal Counsel wrote, saying he’s been at the DOJ “at a sufficiently senior pay level for over a year.”
“Mr. Whitaker has been designated based on a statute that permits him to serve as Acting Attorney General for a limited period, pending the Senate’s consideration of a nominee for Attorney General,” the office wrote. The designation is consistent with an opinion the department issued in 2003 and with “two centuries of practice.”
Whitaker took over the supervision of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 election. Whitaker in the past criticized Mueller’s probe, namely its scope. “It is time for Rosenstein, who is the acting attorney general for the purposes of this investigation, to order Mueller to limit the scope of his investigation to the four corners of the order appointing him special counsel,” Whitaker wrote in a 2017 editorial for CNN .
President Trump told Fox News on Nov. 18 that Whitaker is free to make decisions on how to handle Mueller’s probe.
“It’s going to be up to him. I think he’s very well aware, politically. I think he’s astute, politically. He’s a very smart person, a very respected person,” Trump said. “He’s going to do what’s right. I really believe he’s going to do what’s right.”
In the interview, Trump also suggested Mueller’s probe is nearing its completion. “Probably this is the end,” Trump said.
