House Democrats have kicked off their investigations into the Trump administration by pressing Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on his connection to a Florida company that the Federal Trade Commission shut down and called a “scam that has bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.”
Whitaker has faced a storm of controversy and criticism after being appointed as the temporary replacement for Jeff Sessions after Trump fired him as attorney general. The appointment put Whitaker in charge of overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia inquiry.
The former Iowa U.S. attorney was an advisory board member of World Patent Marketing, a Miami-based company that promoted a promise to help inventors get patents. The FTC shut it down in May, while also serving it with a $26 million judgment.
The top Democrats on the House Oversight, Judiciary, Intelligence, and Energy and Commerce committees jointly sent seven letters requesting documents and briefings about Whitaker’s role on the advisory board of the company.
Reps. Elijah Cummings of Oversight, Jerry Nadler of Judiciary, Adam Schiff of Intelligence, and Frank Pallone of Energy and Commerce stated that court records include documents showing Whitaker played a direct role in some of these actions.
“Because Mr. Whitaker was not confirmed by the Senate, both Republican and Democratic constitutional law experts warned that his appointment was, and continues to be, unconstitutional. In addition, because the Senate was not given an opportunity to properly vet Mr. Whitaker’s background, serious questions are now arising about his fitness to serve in this position of trust,” the lawmakers wrote in each letter.
The letters were sent Wednesday to Whitaker; Scott Cooper, the founder, owner and CEO of World Patent Marketing; the FTC; the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the Better Business Bureaus serving Metro New York and Southeast Florida and the Caribbean.
Whitaker joined the World Patent Marketing advisory board in October 2014. In a press release announcing the position, he was quoted as saying: “World Patent Marketing has become a trusted partner to many inventors that believe in the American Dream,” and “I have always admired World Patent Marketing and its innovative products and dynamic leadership team.”
Federal Election Commission filings show Cooper then donated $2,600 to Whitaker’s Iowa Senate campaign. Records also show that from October 2014 to February 2016, the company paid at least $9,375 to Whitaker, and he was supposed to receive $7,500 in payments in 2016 and 2017. Whether Whitaker received the money or not, however, is unclear.
The Miami New Times reported that World Patent Marking was a pure scam that “simply took cash without ever meeting or reviewing any pitches” and even as it raked in more than $26 million, “virtually none of the firm’s clients ever made money.”
An FTC press release from May 2017 said that after working with World Patent Marketing, “many customers ended up in debt or lost their life savings with nothing to show for it.” The Miami New Times also reported that Whitaker threatened customers of World Patent Marketing when they said they would report him to the Better Business Bureau.
“I am a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa,” one email says. “I am assuming you understand that there could be serious civil and criminal consequences for you. […] Understand that we take threats like this quite seriously.”
Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement last week that Whitaker “has said he was not aware of any fraudulent activity. Any stories suggesting otherwise are false.”
But the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released an opinion earlier Wednesday saying that Whitaker’s appointment is constitutional.
There is an ongoing FBI criminal investigation into World Patent Marketing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
