Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday snapped at Rep. Eric Swalwell after the lawmaker asked if he thinks special counsel Robert Mueller is honest, and refused to answer the question because he’s “not a puppet.”
Swalwell, D-Calif., asked Whitaker at a House Judiciary Committee hearing to say, “Mr. President, Bob Mueller is honest and not conflicted.”
“Congressman, I am not a puppet to repeat what you’re saying,” Whitaker replied. “I have answered your question as to what I believe about the special counsel.”
The acting attorney general earlier told Swalwell he believes Mueller to be honest, but the California Democrat continued to push Whitaker to tell Trump he thinks the special counsel is also truthful and not conflicted.
[Read more: Sheila Jackson Lee gets in nasty dust-up with Acting AG Whitaker]
The president in November called Mueller a “conflicted prosecutor gone rogue.” Whitaker declined when pressed again on whether he thinks Mueller is honest.
“Congressman, I am not here to be a puppet to repeat terms and words that you say that I should say,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker gets upset with Swalwell’s line of question about if he thinks Mueller is honest, says he’s “not a puppet to repeat what you’re saying” pic.twitter.com/pP1jPcfHpw
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2019
Whitaker took over as acting attorney general in November after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced from the position. He previously served as Sessions’ chief of staff.
Since taking over the Justice Department in an acting capacity, Whitaker has come under scrutiny for his past comments about Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
His criticisms of the Russia probe led to calls for him to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation. However, the Justice Department said in December Whitaker would not step aside.
