Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, reprimanded Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker for dodging her questions about his past appearances before Congress and conversations he has had about the special counsel’s ongoing Russia probe.
The two tangled after Whitaker refused a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing to provide a yes-or-no response to her question about whether he had ever had a confirmation hearing and appeared before lawmakers for an oversight hearing in the past. When Whitaker fired off a joke about the duration of Jackson Lee’s questioning, the Texas Democrat scolded him for his attitude toward lawmakers.
“Mr. Attorney General, we’re not joking here, and your humor is not acceptable,” Jackson Lee snapped. “You are here because we have a constitutional duty to ask questions, and the Congress has the right to establish government rules. The rules are that you are here. So, I need to ask the question, and I need to have my time restored so you can behave appropriately. I will behave appropriately as a member of the Judiciary Committee.”
Whitaker ultimately told the Texas Democrat that he had never appeared before Congress for a hearing, including while he was a U.S. attorney in Iowa. When Trump initially tapped Whitaker to serve as acting attorney general after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced out of the position in November, the constitutionality of his appointment came under scrutiny.
Whitaker’s hearing goes off rails after he tried to make joke and was scolded like a grade schooler by @JacksonLeeTX18
“Mr. Attorney General we’re not joking here and your humor is not acceptable.” #WhitakerHearing pic.twitter.com/cCSGzz45r1
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 8, 2019
Jackson Lee then questioned Whitaker about reports stating he shared his private opinions about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe with former chief of staff John Kelly, members of the Trump family, or others while he worked as chief of staff to Sessions.
“The special counsel’s investigation is an ongoing investigation, so I have nothing more to say than what I’ve said,” he said.
Jackson Lee asked whether Whitaker had talked with Trump or Kelly while Sessions led the Justice Department. “Is there someone that provided you the basis of that question or is that an anonymously sourced article?” he asked.
Asked by Jackson Lee asked whether he was denying the reports about phone calls he may have had with Trump and Kelly during Sessions’ tenure as attorney general, Whitaker responded: “I don’t think you can assume anything from that.”
Whitaker previously told lawmakers during the hearing he did not talk to Trump or senior White House officials about Mueller’s investigation. He also said he did not interfere in the probe “in any way.”
