According to a new CNN report, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has given “no indication he believes he needs to step aside from overseeing” the investigation into Russia’s attempted interference in the 2016 election. Well, Whitaker better start believing, because he is ethically and legally obligated to recuse himself from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Unlike his predecessor, the recently ousted Jeff Sessions, Whitaker did not partake in Trump’s campaign or his Presidential Inaugural Committee. However, he has said a number of things that demonstrate a level of conflict of interest that would impede the independence of the investigation.
Whitaker has publicly castigated the Mueller investigation, referring to it as “Mueller’s lynch mob” on Twitter. During a CNN appearance, he suggested that should Trump fire Sessions, the next attorney general could halt the Mueller investigation by choking off its funding. He is also close personal friends with Trump’s former campaign chairman, Sam Clovis, who is a witness in the investigation due to his own relationship with George Papadopoulos. Most notably, Whitaker wrote an opinion piece in August 2017 in which he heavily criticized the extent of the Mueller investigation, arguing that President Trump’s businesses and finances should be off-limits.
While many on the Left have fiercely condemned Whitaker’s career background and open predilections for conservative legal philosophies, he is well-credentialed and a seemingly fine choice for the top job at the Department of Justice, at least for the time. But he must recuse himself from the Russia investigation if he wants to maintain the precedent of presidential noninterference in the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
It’s important to note that the attorney general absolutely serves at the pleasure of the president, and the DOJ is not an independent agency. However, conservatives rightly lambasted former Attorney General Eric Holder for covering up for the Obama administration during the Fast and Furious investigation, an offense so egregious that even 17 Democrats voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress.
[Read: New acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker now overseeing Mueller investigation: 6 things to know]
Even if the Constitution doesn’t mandate the independence of the DOJ, as a matter of precedent and principle, we ought to expect the justice system to remain unimpeded by partisan hackery. It’s why we are correct to criticize the involvement of Lisa Page and Peter Strzok in the Mueller investigation. The answer to corruption is not more corruption on the other side.
Furthermore, recusing himself from the investigation would help Whitaker avoid the appearance of impropriety, giving him a great mandate to lean in hard for the “America First” agenda.
There is currently zero evidence that Trump himself is guilty of any collusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin or the Russian government. Given the length and scope of the investigation, it’s increasingly likely that the conclusion of the Mueller investigation will thoroughly vindicate the president. So, his acting attorney general should let the investigation go on and not defile his mandate to enact key items in Trump’s agenda.
