Trump Naming Whitaker As Acting US Attorney General Likely Unconstitutional - Senator

Fakhir Rizvi Published November 10, 2018 | 12:04 AM

The appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting US Attorney General may be in violation of the United States Constitution, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to President Donald Trump on Friday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) The appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting US Attorney General may be in violation of the United States Constitution, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to President Donald Trump on Friday.

"Your decision this week to ... name a Justice Department staff member, Mr. Matthew Whitaker, as acting Attorney General raises a number of questions regarding the propriety and even the constitutionality of that action," Schumer said.

On Thursday, Trump named Whitaker to replace Jeff Sessions who resigned from the position US Attorney General earlier in the day at Trump's request. Whitaker will now lead all matters related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into allegations of Russia-Trump collusion in the 2016 US presidential election.

Schumer argued that the matter is very troubling because the new Attorney General has criticized the Mueller investigation.

The senator also pointed out that Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has been confirmed by the Senate, but Whitaker was named by the president without congressional approval.

This action makes the new US Attorney General an "unconfirmed political appointee," Schumer said, adding that Whitaker has not been scrutinized as the law requires.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Whitaker have not discussed the work of Special Counsel Robert Mueller prior to the appointment.

Russia has repeatedly denied all allegations of meddling in the US political system and collusion with the Trump campaign in the 2016 presidential election. Russian officials have said the allegations have been invented to excuse the election loss of a presidential candidate as well as deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption.