Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was notified about Michael Cohen’s plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller before it was made public earlier Thursday.
Federal regulations don’t have a requirement that the attorney general overseeing the special counsel sign off on such a development — the attorney general only has to be notified.
A source familiar with the case told the Washington Examiner that the process was followed with Cohen’s case, as it has been with all cases.
“The Special Counsel shall notify the Attorney General of events in the course of his or her investigation in conformity with the Departmental guidelines with respect to Urgent Reports,” federal regulations mandate.
Democrats and critics of President Trump were worried that the elevation of Whitaker to attorney general would spell danger for Mueller.
Whitaker is a known ally of Trump who has consistently hailed the Mueller investigation as a “hoax” and “witch hunt.” Whitaker has made prior public statements critical of the special counsel.
Cohen, the former personal attorney for President Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday to making false statements to Congress in 2017 about the ongoing Russia investigation.
The Justice Department manual on urgent reports says that they must be submitted to leadership, including the attorney general, Whitaker, and the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, in the cases of:
- Major developments in significant investigations and litigation.
- Law enforcement emergencies.
- Events affecting the Department that are likely to generate national media or Congressional attention.
Urgent reports must be submitted at least three days in advance of anticipated developments. If there is an unanticipated event or emergency, urgent reports must be submitted within 24 hours.
Cohen “knowingly and willfully made a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation” to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, prosecutors said in the Southern District of New York.
Per Cohen’s plea deal, in exchange for his guilty plea, he won’t be prosecuted for “any other false statements” to Congress or the special counsel’s office about his Russia testimony or for obstructing justice or conspiring to commit perjury.
Despite calling Cohen a liar on Thursday, the president’s lawyers told the New York Times that what he admitted in court aligned with Trump’s recollection of those discussions.
