U.S. Democrats mull suit over naming of Whitaker
12 November, 2018
U.S. Senate Democrats are considering legal action over President Donald Trump’s appointment of a new acting attorney general, congressional sources said on Friday, as some outside experts called the move unconstitutional.
Trump on Wednesday named Matthew Whitaker to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out after months of attacks by Trump for recusing himself from an ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The move made Whitaker supervisor of the investigation, which has hung over Trump’s presidency. Whitaker has criticized the probe in the past as too wide-ranging, which has raised concerns among Democrats that Sessions’ ouster and Whitaker’s appointment might be precursors to Trump moving to end it.
Senate Democrats were considering suing Trump, the sources said, on the grounds that, in naming Whitaker, the president ignored a statutory line of succession at the Justice Department and deprived senators of their constitutional “advice and consent” role on some presidential appointments.
“The only two paths to that office are regular succession, and advice [and] consent,” said a source close to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said late on Friday he was “considering action that might be brought against an interim appointment that violates the normal statutory line of succession and raises very serious constitutional questions.”
He said he was speaking only for himself and he hoped Republicans might join as plaintiffs if a lawsuit goes forward.