Exclusive: Whitaker told he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller investigation

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: CNN

Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has consulted with ethics officials at the Justice Department and they have advised him he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, a source familiar with the process told CNN Thursday.

The source added Whitaker has been in ongoing discussions with ethics officials since taking the job in early November following the ouster of Jeff Sessions, who had stepped aside from overseeing the investigation due to his role as a Trump campaign surrogate during the 2016 election.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversaw the investigation following Sessions' recusal and his office is still managing the investigation on a day-to-day basis, as CNN has previously reported.

Whitaker is expected to inform senators, many of whom have raised ethics concerns given his past criticism of Mueller's investigation, about this development later Thursday, the source said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/politics/matthew-whitaker-attorney-general-robert-mueller-investigation/index.html

[SHRED]

1. Good luck with that

If that asshole interferes then lock him up also.

[Gothmog]

2. The House Democrats will be glad to check into these claims

[randr]

3. An appointment given by the liar in chief is the only proof of collusion

and criminality needed to justify recusal. Anyone who jumps on the Trump bandwagon is part of a criminal conspiracy to destroy our nation.

[watoos]

4. This is not good.

I want to see it in writing, with the names of the "ethics" officials.

[Achilleaze]

6. Doubleplusungood

Freaking republican fascists are choking off justice

[.99center]

11. The ethics official recommended recusal.

"The ethics official tasked with dealing with the review described it as a "close call" whether Whitaker needed to step aside but believed, in his view, that Whitaker should recuse himself out of an abundance of caution.

A tight group of Whitaker's advisers who were heavily engaged in the ethics review process with him and ethics officials, then did their own review and ultimately recommended he not recuse himself."

[Texin]

5. I agree, Watoos, this is not good. And we know McConnell won't have any issues with it, don't we?

It won't matter that the Dems do, and a few of the departing rethugs in the Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if Mueller is sacked Friday or into the weeked (before Shitler heads of for his 18-day vacay).

[barbtries]

7. fucking bullshit.

[bluestarone]

8. Could the new house subpoena this asshole?

Gotta stop this creep

[Shanti Mama]

9. I usually respect the ethics officials

This makes no sense. He is, in many ways, more biased than Sessions was.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Help me Mr. Whitaker! Help me! - Donald J Trump

[neohippie]

12. Umm they're lying again

Link to tweet

It appears that ethics officials advised recusal, and instead of taking that advice Whitaker looked for another group that would give him the answer he wanted

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe

David Fahrenthold Retweeted

Update: Contrary to earlier report, DOJ ethics official told Whitaker's team that acting attorney general should recuse from Mueller probe

Link to tweet

National Security

Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to, officials say

By Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky December 20 at 2:39 PM

A senior Justice Department ethics official concluded acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker should recuse from overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe examining President Trump, but advisers to Whitaker recommended the opposite and he has no plans to step aside, according to people familiar with the matter.

The latest account of what happened underscores the high stakes and deep distrust — within Congress and in some corners of the Justice Department — surrounding Whitaker’s appointment to become the nation’s top law enforcement official until the Senate votes on the nomination of William P. Barr to take the job. Earlier in the day, a different official, who spoke on the condition they not be named, said ethics officials had advised Whitaker need not step aside, only to retract that account hours later.

Within days of the president’s announcement in early November that he had put Whitaker in the role on a temporary basis, Whitaker tapped a veteran U.S. attorney to become part of a four-person team of advisers on his new job, including the question of whether he should recuse from Mueller’s investigation because of his past statements regarding that probe, and his friendship with one of its witnesses, according to a senior Justice Department official.

Whitaker never asked Justice Department ethics officials for a recommendation, nor did he receive a formal recommendation, this official said.

However, after Whitaker met repeatedly with ethics officials to discuss the facts and the issues under consideration, a senior ethics official told the group of advisers on Tuesday that it was a “close call,” but Whitaker should recuse to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, the official said. Whitaker was not present at that meeting, they said.
....

Devlin Barrett writes about national security and law enforcement for The Washington Post. He has previously worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and the New York Post, where he started as a copy boy. Follow https://twitter.com/DevlinBarrett

Matt Zapotosky covers the Justice Department for The Washington Post's national security team. He has previously worked covering the federal courthouse in Alexandria and local law enforcement in Prince George's County and Southern Maryland. Follow https://twitter.com/mattzap