The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/u-s-department-of-justice/)
Former Attorney General William Barr was backed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to resume a job he held in the early 1990s. Senators will press Barr not to hinder the Russia probe headed by Robert Mueller, who once reported to Barr.
The president and top federal officials gathered 700 law enforcers in Kansas City to make a higher priority out of DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods.
More than 400 former Justice Department staff members have called for the removal of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, arguing that his appointment violated the Constitution because he lacked Senate confirmation required of other Cabinet officials. “This guy is not qualified – period,” says a former DOJ prosecutor.
A convicted drug trafficker from the Dominican Republic has joined the ranks of those challenging President Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. Several other such cases are pending, including one at the Supreme Court.
As a U.S. Attorney in Iowa, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was a national leader in imposing harsh sentences on drug offenders. Pending legislation in Congress would reduce some such penalties.
Then-White House counsel Donald McGahn rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that could prompt accusations of abuse of power.
Before joining the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker led a group called the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, which one board member said “only existed on paper.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s communications with the White House, over concerns that he might have shared secret information from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation with President Trump.
Maryland plans to ask a federal judge on Tuesday for an injunction declaring that the position rightfully belongs to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, not Matthew Whitaker.
President Trump denies that he knows DOJ’s Matt Whitaker, after he called Whitaker “a great guy.” Critics worry that he could curtail or fire special counsel Robert Mueller.