Representative Jerry Nadler, who is expected to be the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker would be the first witness subpoenaed to testify about his “hostility” toward the special counsel’s investigation.
“Our very first witness after January 3, we will subpoena, or we will summon, if necessary subpoena, Mr. Whitaker,” Nadler told CNN‘s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Whitaker, who is a long-time critic of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, has come under fire by Democrats for his open and harsh criticism of the probe into collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.
“Well, the questions we will ask him will be about his expressed hostility to the investigation,” the New York representative said. “How he can possibly supervise it when he’s expressed when he’s come out and said that the investigation is invalid.”
Back in 2017, Jeff Sessions’ former chief of staff Whitaker called the special counsel’s appointment “ridiculous” and “a little fishy.” In a CNN op-ed written last year, he also argued that Mueller is “dangerously close to crossing” a red line following reports that the special counsel was looking into Trump’s finances.
The likely incoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee further noted that protecting the Russia probe will be one of the priorities of the committee.
“Well, the very first thing, obviously, is to protect the Mueller investigation. The president’s dismissal of Attorney General Sessions and his appointment of Whitaker, who’s a complete political lackey, is a real threat to the integrity of that investigation,” Nadler said.
He also expressed his belief that the appointment of Whitaker was aimed at destroying the Russia investigation, a sentiment that was echoed by other Democrats as well. “He’s totally unqualified, and his only qualification seems to be that the President wants him to be the hatchet man to destroy the Mueller investigation,” Nadler said.
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