Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a statement that if the Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker does not recuse himself from oversight of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation on Russian interference, Democrats will be obliged to tie protections for the probe into the spending bill, Fox News informed.
“We Democrats, House and Senate, will attempt to add to must-pass legislation, in this case the spending bill, legislation that would prevent Mr. Whitaker from interfering with the Mueller investigation should Whitaker not recuse,” Schumer said Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Schumer also stated that he was concerned about the past remarks Whitaker made as a commentator on CNN about the probe. Whitaker has argued that cutting the budget of the Special Counsel would stop the investigation, but also stated that President’s finances would be a “red line” and that he believes there was “no collusion” between Russia and Trump campaign.
“The appointment of Mr. Whitaker should concern every American – Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative – who believes in rule of law and justice,” Schumer said. “He has already prejudged the Mueller situation. If he stays there, he will create a constitutional crisis by inhibiting Mueller or firing Mueller, so Congress has to act.”
Schumer, Pelosi and other key Democrats have written a letter to Lee Lofthus, the top ethics officer at the Justice Department, asking him whether he had advised Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the Mueller investigation.
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