11/15/18
President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated during an interview that he tapped former US attorney Matthew Whitaker to replace then Attorney General Jeff Sessions in order to rein in the Russia investigation. Speaking to The Daily Caller, Trump expanded on his thought process behind choosing Whitaker to take over as acting attorney general. "Matthew Whitaker is a very respected man," Trump said. "He's — and he's, very importantly, he's respected within DOJ. I heard he got a very good decision, I haven't seen it." He added that he "heard it was a very strong opinion," referring to the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel's 20-page memo justifying Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement. Reiterating that Whitaker is "somebody that's very respected" — a claim that stands in contrast to many DOJ and FBI officials' views of their new boss — Trump said he "knew him only as he pertained, you know, as he was with Jeff Sessions."
The president then appeared to allude to the fact that he tapped Whitaker primarily to constrain the Russia investigation. "As far as I'm concerned, this is an investigation that should have never been brought," Trump told The Daily Caller. "It should have never been had ... It's an illegal investigation." He then tacked on: "And you know, it's very interesting because when you talk about not Senate confirmed, [the special counsel Robert Mueller] is not Senate confirmed." Whitaker has a long history of making controversial remarks about the Mueller investigation and has publicly mused about gutting the probe. Though he submitted to a DOJ ethics inquiry into whether he should recuse himself, Whitaker told Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday that he would not be stepping back from the investigation. "What is so unusual about Trump is that he publicly forecasts his motivation in a way that is self-defeating and self-incriminating," said Elie Honig, a former prosecutor from the Southern District of New York who specialized in organized-crime cases.