Princess of Tap Posted November 8, 2018 7 hours ago, jakeem said: POLITICOVerified account@politico Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have been the first Trump Cabinet-level member purged in the wake of the midterm elections — but he is unlikely to be the last https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/07/trump-sessions-administration-departures-973692 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCid Posted November 8, 2018 "Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have been the first Trump Cabinet-level member purged in the wake of the midterm elections — but he is unlikely to be the last." Trump had already said there was going to be major shake-up in the administration after the election. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 8, 2018 What Acting AG Whitaker’s record says about how he might handle the Mueller probe ..... Whitaker’s record on the Mueller investigation In an op-ed published last year by CNN, Whitaker warned Mueller would be crossing a “red line” if his investigation looked into the finances of the Trump family. “If he were to continue to investigate the financial relationships without a broadened scope in his appointment, then this would raise serious concerns that the special counsel’s investigation was a mere witch hunt,” Whitaker wrote. During an appearance on CNN last year, Whitaker suggested that whoever replaced Sessions would not need to fire Mueller but could reduce his budget “so low that his investigations grinds to almost a halt.” In August 2017, Whitaker retweeted an article that called Mueller’s team a “lynch mob.”..... when Whitaker was running for U.S. Senate, he said appointed judges should have a “biblical view of justice.” If they had a secular worldview, he said that would make him “very concerned about how they judge.” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-acting-ag-whitakers-record-says-about-how-he-might-handle-the-mueller-probe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 8, 2018 John Q. Barrett @JohnQBarrett Whitaker told me in June 2017 that he was flying out from Iowa to NYC to be on CNN regularly because he was hoping to be noticed as a Trump defender, and through that to get a Trump judicial appointment back in Iowa. -------------------------------------------------------- Matthew MillerVerified account @matthewamiller 20h20 hours ago FFS. All he had to do was attack the Mueller probe on tv and lo and behold he ends up as the AG with power to shut it down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 8, 2018 LawfareVerified account @lawfareblog 5h5 hours ago Like Sessions, Whitaker may be obligated to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. The relevant Justice Department guideline is Section 45.2 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations: https://bit.ly/2ATkGTY Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 8, 2018 Carol LeonnigVerified account @CarolLeonnig Consider Trump's new AG. -hired by DOJ after going on TV to rip the Mueller probe -friends with a Trump campaign chair, Mueller witness - helped lead company that bilked customers out of $millions, threatened one for complaining https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/in-matthew-whitaker-trump-has-a-loyalist-at-the-helm-of-the-justice-department/2018/11/07/addfeb3e-e2cb-11e8-ab2c-b31dcd53ca6b_story.html … Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted November 9, 2018 Opinion Matthew Whitaker is a crackpot The acting attorney general doesn’t accept Marbury v. Madison. By Ruth Marcus • Read more » 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 9, 2018 Whitaker’s appointment as acting Attorney General is unconstitutional "........... The president always has to worry about that “advise and consent” stuff. It doesn’t matter what the Vacancies Reform Act or any other statute says. The Appointments Clause in Article II of the Constitution says that “principal officers” must be confirmed by the Senate, period. (“Inferior officers,” who work under principals, can be appointed without confirmation.) For good reason. ......... In addition to the Vacancies Reform Act, there’s another statute specific to the DOJ that says the deputy AG — Rosenstein — takes over if there’s a vacancy in the top job. To the extent that the two statutes conflict, with Trump wanting Whitaker in under the VRA and a separate law indicating that Rosenstein should take the job, the Court might resolve the discrepancy in favor of the latter just because it’s more specific. Congress had a particular plan in mind for the DOJ so that’s the plan that should be followed. ...... https://hotair.com/archives/2018/11/08/john-yoo-whitakers-appointment-acting-attorney-general-unconstitutional/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCid Posted November 9, 2018 19 minutes ago, mr6666 said: Whitaker’s appointment as acting Attorney General is unconstitutional "........... The president always has to worry about that “advise and consent” stuff. It doesn’t matter what the Vacancies Reform Act or any other statute says. The Appointments Clause in Article II of the Constitution says that “principal officers” must be confirmed by the Senate, period. (“Inferior officers,” who work under principals, can be appointed without confirmation.) For good reason. ......... In addition to the Vacancies Reform Act, there’s another statute specific to the DOJ that says the deputy AG — Rosenstein — takes over if there’s a vacancy in the top job. To the extent that the two statutes conflict, with Trump wanting Whitaker in under the VRA and a separate law indicating that Rosenstein should take the job, the Court might resolve the discrepancy in favor of the latter just because it’s more specific. Congress had a particular plan in mind for the DOJ so that’s the plan that should be followed. ...... https://hotair.com/archives/2018/11/08/john-yoo-whitakers-appointment-acting-attorney-general-unconstitutional/ Good luck with that. You might get a lower court to rule Whitaker cannot take office, but he already has. Could issue an injunction, but then Trump would directly appeal to Supreme Court for injunction to be lifted until case fully decided by the Supreme Court and they would decide 5-4 in favor of whatever Trump wants to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 9, 2018 from October 10.... Trump talked with Jeff Sessions’s own chief of staff (Whitaker) about replacing him as attorney general "President Trump talked recently with Jeff Sessions’s own chief of staff about replacing Sessions as attorney general, according to people briefed on the conversation, signaling that the president remains keenly interested in ousting his top law enforcement official. The conversation between Trump and Matthew G. Whitaker was somewhat nebulous, the people said. It was not clear, for example, whether Whitaker would take over on an interim basis or be nominated in a more permanent capacity, or how definitive the president’s intentions were.... https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-talked-with-jeff-sessionss-own-chief-of-staff-about-replacing-him-as-attorney-general/2018/10/10/e010211c-ccc5-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.742c494886ee Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 9, 2018 Seth AbramsonVerified account @SethAbramson 4h4 hours ago .... Trump's Chief of Staff, John Kelly, privately called Whitaker Trump's "eyes and ears" at Justice, and media reports confirm he was *specifically* prone to discuss the Mueller probe with Trump. Any secret Whitaker-Trump discussion of Mueller probe was inappropriate—Trump knew it, Sessions knew it, Kelly knew it, and Whitaker knew it. But Whitaker had been selected *because* his history showed he was willing to break rules—and he was perpetually thankful for his job. Moreover, because Sessions' firing—obscured by Trump forcing Sessions to write a "letter of resignation," then confirmed by Kelly ordering Sessions out of DOJ 3 days before Sessions wanted—was obstruction, and will likely be looked into by Mueller, Whitaker's now a *witness*. ......... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 9, 2018 John Q. Barrett @JohnQBarrett Whitaker told me in June 2017 that he was flying out from Iowa to NYC to be on CNN regularly because he was hoping to be noticed as a Trump defender, and through that to get a Trump judicial appointment back in Iowa. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 10, 2018 Seth AbramsonVerified account @SethAbramson 2h2 hours ago BREAKING NEWS (NYT): In July 2017, Trump ordered Don McGahn to interview Matt Whitaker about becoming a legal attack dog for Trump against the Mueller probe. A month later Whitaker was installed... *as Sessions' Chief of Staff*. And Trump began meeting with Whitaker regularly. ------------------------------------------------------- Seth AbramsonVerified account @SethAbramson The news that Whitaker *didn't know Sessions* when he was made his *Chief of Staff* confirms what I wrote in my prior thread: Whitaker was brought into DOJ by Trump as a Russia end-around (a function made necessary by Sessions' recusal). Add to that Trump lying re: knowing him... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCid Posted November 10, 2018 One thing about the Whitaker controversy is that it is yet another distraction from the other things that Trump, his cabinet and the GOPers in Senate are doing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 10, 2018 Bill KristolVerified account @BillKristol This new ad from Republicans for the Rule of Law on Matthew Whitaker and the Mueller investigation will air on several of the Sunday shows this weekend. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 11, 2018 Adam SchiffVerified account @RepAdamSchiff 4h4 hours ago If Whitaker doesn't recuse himself and has any involvement in Mueller's probe, we will expose it, including whether he made any commitments to Trump, is serving as a back channel, or interfering in the probe. He will be held accountable. There must be no ambiguity about that. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCid Posted November 13, 2018 Appears another is about to fall. Homeland Security sec. Kirstjen Nielsen may be leaving soon. Less than a year after taking over. Apparently Trump cannot accept that this is a nation of laws, a democracy and there is a Constitution. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-is-preparing-to-remove-kirstjen-nielsen-as-homeland-security-secretary-aides-say/2018/11/12/77111496-e6b0-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html?utm_term=.c25cbcfbfc7c&wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 13, 2018 After clashes with first lady and others, Kelly may soon exit White House The White House Chief of Staff has had an array of disputes with officials from the NSC and the East Wing in recent months. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/after-clashes-first-lady-others-kelly-may-soon-exit-white-n935686 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCid Posted November 13, 2018 4 minutes ago, mr6666 said: After clashes with first lady and others, Kelly may soon exit White House The White House Chief of Staff has had an array of disputes with officials from the NSC and the East Wing in recent months. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/after-clashes-first-lady-others-kelly-may-soon-exit-white-n935686 Add this to the First Lady (!) firing the assistant NSA. I don't even think Nancy Reagan would have done that. At least not without a lot more reason and finesse. As for Kelly, I think he is torn between an honest belief that he can somehow make it better by staying. Also, he has that Marine Corps mindset of never giving up - even when you are losing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 13, 2018 State of Maryland asks judge to declare Rosenstein acting attorney general Trump bypassed Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is overseeing the special counsel investigation, in favor of Matt Whitaker for acting AG. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/state-maryland-asks-judge-declare-rosenstein-acting-attorney-general-n935446?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_np Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted November 14, 2018 Opinion Matthew Whitaker is steeped in time travel and Bigfoot. He’s the right man for the job. Only such a man could successfully sell the notion that the special counsel’s inquiry is a hoax. By Dana Milbank • Read more » 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted November 14, 2018 7 minutes ago, Bogie56 said: Opinion Matthew Whitaker is steeped in time travel and Bigfoot. He’s the right man for the job. Only such a man could successfully sell the notion that the special counsel’s inquiry is a hoax. By Dana Milbank • Read more » I'd love to be able to read that, but the site won't allow it unless I pay. More and more of these linked stories are unreadable, either behind pay walls or disabled for ad blockers. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hibi Posted November 14, 2018 On 11/10/2018 at 4:23 PM, mr6666 said: Bill KristolVerified account @BillKristol This new ad from Republicans for the Rule of Law on Matthew Whitaker and the Mueller investigation will air on several of the Sunday shows this weekend. ARE THEY KIDDING??????? ISNT THAT WHAT HE"S DOING???? LMREO! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr6666 Posted November 14, 2018 this whole Whitaker thing seems to be a choice Trump made stupidly on his own & is turning into a major fiasco 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted November 14, 2018 2 hours ago, LawrenceA said: I'd love to be able to read that, but the site won't allow it unless I pay. More and more of these linked stories are unreadable, either behind pay walls or disabled for ad blockers. Don't you get a couple of free reads per month with the Post? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
