MATTHEW WHITAKER – Tom's Blog

“It’s very interesting to watch the Clinton camp try to explain away these meetings.”

By Michael W. Chapman

Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general of the United States and a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, said in a 2016 interview that there is enough evidence “in the public domain” to warrant the appointment of a “special prosecutor” to investigate the Clinton Foundation. He added that the Foundation was “clearly a pay-to-play situation” where if you gave money to the Foundation, you got “preferential treatment” at the State Department, which was headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2013.

Hillary Clinton’s emailing of classified documents through her private computer server was a “serious” problem, but the “real ballgame” is “where Clinton Foundation donors were given preferential treatment,” said Whitaker in an Aug. 25, 2016 interview with Breitbart News Daily.

Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and former President Bill Clinton. (Getty Images.)

“We need somebody that is independent to look at these facts,” he said. “I was concerned when I heard that the Attorney General [Loretta Lynch in 2016] and the politicals at the Department of Justice had determined not to open an investigation into what is clearly a pay-to-play situation where, if you gave money to the Clinton Foundation, you got preferential treatment, if you had business from the State Department.”

“Based on what I’ve seen, that’s in the public domain currently, I think there’s enough to have a special prosecutor that can look into this, that can have the ability to subpoena documents and interview witnesses and do the kind of things and have the independence separate from this administration,” said Whitaker, the former chief of staff to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“There is so much here, so much smoke, so many unanswered questions,” he said.

Towards the end of the interview, Whitaker said, “I’ve always thought the Clinton Foundation is a very sophisticated way to get around the campaign finance laws and to allow for unlimited donations and an ability to curry favor with a presidential candidate that, quite frankly, is unprecedented in the history of our country.”

Matthew Whitaker was named the acting attorney general of the United States on Nov. 7 by President Donald Trump. Between 2004 and 2009, Whitaker was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Whitaker is married and has three children.

US President Donald Trump has requested – and received – the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Department of Justice will be led by his chief of staff Matthew Whitaker until a permanent replacement is nominated.

“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!” Trump said on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, after announcing the appointment of Whitaker.

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There is a potential problem with Whitaker’s appointment over the head of the current deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, who has been in charge of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of Trump-Russia “collusion” during the 2016 presidential election. Rosenstein was confirmed to his post by the Senate, whereas Whitaker was not.

Also, Whitaker would be taking over from Rosenstein the oversight of the Mueller investigation.

“The Acting Attorney General is in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice,” DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told reporters on Wednesday.

The sacking of Sessions and the appointment of Whitaker have alarmed Democrats, who are concerned that Trump is making moves to shut down the Mueller probe. Prior to becoming Sessions’ chief of staff in September 2017, Whitaker worked as a legal commentator for CNN, and at one point argued that Mueller’s investigation was becoming a “witch hunt.”

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There have already been calls by Democrats in Congress for Whitaker to recuse himself from the Russia probe.

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Sessions, a senator from Alabama at the time, joined the Trump campaign early on and was considered a favorite to take over the Department of Justice in the new administration. He was immediately forced to recuse himself from any probes into “Russiagate,” due to his role in the campaign, however.

Since then, Trump has frequently clashed with Sessions over the DOJ’s handling of the Russia probe. The DOJ’s refusal to comply with congressional oversight requests to turn over documents related to the FBI’s spying on the Trump campaign also caused increasing frustration at the White House, prompting the president to declare at one point, “I have no attorney general!”

“I’m not happy at the border, I’m not happy with numerous things,” including the Russia probe, Trump told The Hill in September. “I’m very disappointed in Jeff. Very disappointed.”

Sessions has maintained his loyalty to Trump and the president’s law and order agenda, even in the resignation letter.

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With Republicans picking up seats in the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, despite losing a majority in the House of Representatives, Trump was widely expected to reshuffle his Cabinet in the near future, though the speed with which Sessions was ushered out was unexpected in Washington.

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Tag: MATTHEW WHITAKER

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns from DOJ on Trump’s request

US President Donald Trump has requested – and received – the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Department of Justice will be led by his chief of staff Matthew Whitaker until a permanent replacement is nominated.