Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday demanded that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker take immediate steps to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, after what they called Trump’s “forced firing” of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“The forced firing of Attorney General Sessions appears to be part of an ongoing pattern of behavior by the president seeking to undermine investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,” wrote Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and other committee Democrats in a Thursday letter to both Whitaker and committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.
Democrats argued that Sessions’ firing is the latest sign Trump is trying to disrupt Muller’s investigation, possibly by firing him.
“The forced resignation of Attorney General Sessions may therefore pave the way not only to curtail the investigation, but also to potentially dismiss the special counsel,” they wrote.
[Read: New acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker now overseeing Mueller investigation: 6 things to know]
To avoid that outcome, Democrats asked Whitaker to move immediately to ensure Mueller can finish his work. They first asked him to confirm which official in the department supervises Mueller, and asked if Whitaker himself might be able to do so as a non-Senate-confirmed acting official.
They also asked him to ensure Mueller’s work can continue, and that Whitaker recuse himself from anything to do with the investigation.
As Mueller’s boss, Whitaker could take steps to curtail his investigation, as he oversees Mueller’s jurisdiction and budget. For example, he could direct Mueller to simply stop investigating something, or deny a request by Mueller to expand his investigation into a matter. He also could also block Mueller from certain investigative steps, like subpoenaing someone or issuing new indictments.
“It would of course be wholly inappropriate for you to supervise the investigation, given your well-documented statements regarding the efficacy of the Russia investigation, among other legal concerns,” the Democrats wrote.
Democrats also asked the Justice Department to put in place new regulations to protect prosecutors from political influence, and send Congress all documents available related to the decision to fire Sessions.
Rosenstein has overseen Mueller since he appointed him in May 2017. Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein after Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation — a recusal that Trump saw as betrayal and was likely a reason for Sessions’ ouster.
In a separate letter to Goodlatte, the Democrats asked that Republicans hold an “emergency hearing” about Sessions’ removal, and said Whitaker and Sessions should both be called forth to testify.
Democrats urged Goodlatte to pass legislation that protects Mueller and his investigation. A bill that says Mueller can only be fired for good cause has stalled in both the House and Senate.
While Democrats are stuck asking Republicans for action on Mueller, they will be able to take some of these steps themselves once they retake majority status next year.
