Michael Mukasey & Gonzales, former Repub AGs raise questions on Trump's naming Whitaker

The pressure has to continue--and it has to start coming from Repugs



https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/09/two-former-attorneys-general-questioning-propriety-whitaker-appointment/1946855002/


Two Republican former AGs raise questions on Trump's naming Matthew Whitaker to lead Justice Department






Kevin Johnson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY Published 6:24 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2018 | Updated 6:54 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2018
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Matthew Whitaker was previous Jeff Sessions' chief of staff. Sessions submitted his resignation on Wednesday, one day after the 2018 midterm elections. USA TODAY
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(Photo: George Walker IV, The Tennessean)
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WASHINGTON — Two former attorneys general are questioning the propriety of Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general, suggesting that President Donald Trump may have skirted established rules of succession to install the former Iowa federal prosecutor.

In interviews with USA TODAY, Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, who both served in the George W. Bush administration, aligned themselves Friday with a contingent of legal analysts who assert that the post should have been filled by a Justice Department official who has been confirmed by the Senate.

“Even Richard Nixon didn’t put in somebody as acting attorney general who had not been confirmed,” Mukasey said, referring to the so-called Saturday Night Massacre, when Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned after defying Nixon’s order to fire special Watergate prosecutor Archibold Cox. Solicitor General Robert Bork ultimately agreed to carry out Nixon’s order.

“The successor needs to be a confirmed person in my view," Mukasey said.

Gonzales said questions over Whitaker’s authority will likely have to be resolved in court.

“I don’t think the (Trump) administration did the Justice Department any favors” by installing Whitaker. “Beyond the legal questions, I don’t think it was a good idea.”.....................................