Among the mounting issues with the appointment of Lex Luthor lookalike Matt Whitaker, not the least of which is the constitutionality of it, Vox is reporting that Whitaker was providing private counsel to neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump on how to pursue his political enemies through Justice Department investigations. Along with his eager TV auditions to land a role in the Rump administration, this latest revelation must have put Whitaker's "job interview" over the top for Rump. Vox provides the context:
"In May 2018, President Donald Trump demanded that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation into whether the FBI 'infiltrated or surveilled' his presidential campaign and whether Obama administration officials were involved in this purported effort. Trump, his Republican allies in Congress, and conservative news organizations — most notably Fox News — were making such claims and amplifying those of others, even though they offered scant evidence, if any, that these allegations were true.While Sessions and Rosenstein were trying to keep an unhinged Rump contained, Whitaker was working to undermine them and the Justice Department's position:
Sessions, Rosenstein, and other senior department officials believed that if they agreed to Trump’s wishes, doing so would constitute an improper politicization of the department that would set a dangerous precedent for Trump — or any future president — to exploit the powerful apparatus of the DOJ and FBI to investigate their political adversaries." (our emphasis)
"During this period of time, Whitaker was the chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and in that role was advising Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on how to counter the president’s demands. But according to one former and one current administration official, Whitaker was simultaneously counseling the White House on how the president and his aides might successfully pressure Sessions and Rosenstein to give in to Trump’s demands." (our emphasis)And what about the ridiculous claim that Rump told about not knowing Whitaker?
"Whitaker’s open sympathizing with Trump’s frequent complaints about the Mueller investigation resulted in an unusually close relationship between a president and a staffer of his level. The president met with Whitaker in the White House, often in the Oval Office, at least 10 times, a former senior administration official told me. On most of those occasions, Sessions was also present, but it’s unclear if that was always the case.Who indeed. There are more fascinating disclosures at the linked article, but Whitaker could be the next expendable "coffee boy" in the Rump saga.
During this period, Whitaker frequently spoke by phone with both Trump and Chief of Staff John Kelly, this same official told me. On many of those phone calls, nobody else was on the phone except for the president and Whitaker, or only Kelly and Whitaker. As one senior law enforcement official told me, 'Nobody else knew what was said on those calls except what Whitaker decided to tell others, and if he did, whether he was telling the truth. Who ever heard of a president barely speaking to his attorney general but on the phone constantly with a staff-level person?'” (our emphasis)
UPDATE: More evidence of Whitaker's crackpot views are emerging as well, including his belief that states have the right to nullify federal laws. Looks like he got his "law degree" at Trump University.
UPDATE II: Oh, and did we mention he's a shady grifter?
