After pushing Attorney General Jeff Sessions out of office, Trump bypassed a plethora of qualified potential replacements. Without question, they would have been constitutionally eligible for the job of acting attorney general. They would have no disabling conflicts of interest relating to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. They would not have brought with them a history of conspiracy theories, nonsensical legal views, and untoward business ventures.

Instead, Trump chose Matthew Whitaker, who comes with all of that baggage and more. To Trump, he’s a “three-fer”: political hack, vocal critic of Mueller’s probe, and unapologetic Trump loyalist.

Why Whitaker?

In March 2017, Trump was increasingly frustrated with his unsuccessful efforts to stop the Trump-Russia probe. Referring to Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s (R-WI) notorious 1950s attorney and hatchet-man, he asked:

“Where’s my Roy Cohn?”

Now Trump has provided the answer: Matthew Whitaker.

The federal courts will resolve the serious legal questions surrounding Whitaker’s legitimacy as acting attorney general. But that may be the least of his problems — which are now the country’s problems — revolving around a single question: Why did Trump send Attorney General Jeff Sessions packing and appoint Whitaker in his place?

Don’t ask Trump. He’ll lie. Even when the truth is obvious, he lies.

Whitaker Got the Job for a Reason

Go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Jeff Sessions’ and Matthew Whitaker’s names. Combining the entries for the two men reveals how Whitaker auditioned for and won a leading role in Trump’s ongoing attack on the rule of law.

On March 3, 2017 — the day after Sessions’ recused himself from the Russia probe — Trump began his relentless barrage against the attorney general. After Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel on May 17, Trump turned up the heat.

Enter Matthew Whitaker, who followed the advice of his fellow failed Iowa politician, Sam Clovis — a grand jury witness in Mueller’s investigation. Clovis had told Whitaker that if he wanted Trump’s favorable attention, Whitaker should get a gig as a cable news commentator and use that forum to blast the Mueller probe.

Roll the Tape

— June 21: Whitaker appears on a right-wing talk radio show and declares: “The truth is there was no collusion with the Russians and the Trump campaign.”

— July 10: Whitaker defends Don Jr.’s decision to meet with Russians at Trump Tower.

— July 19: Using the vehicle of a New York Times interview, Trump continues attacking Sessions.

— July 22-26: Trump bombards Sessions with Twitter-fits and tells The Wall Street Journal that he’s “very disappointed” in Sessions.

— July 26: As a CNN pundit, Whitaker outlines a strategy for killing the Mueller probe: fire Sessions; install a Trump lackey as an acting attorney general; let the lackey starve the Mueller probe of funds; Trump-Russia investigation dies.

— July 2017, White House counsel Don McGahn interviews Whitaker about becoming a Trump “legal attack dog” against Mueller. Reportedly, Whitaker didn’t get the job, but you wouldn’t know it from his subsequent behavior:

— August 6: Whitaker criticizes Mueller as “going to far” if he crosses the red line of looking into Trump or Trump family finances.

— August 7: Whitaker says he fears Mueller will engage in a “fishing expedition.”

— August: McGahn pressures Sessions to hire Whitaker as Sessions’ chief of staff.

— Sept. 22: Sessions hires Whitaker as his chief of staff.

— Nov. 7: Trump fires Sessions and appoints Whitaker as acting AG.

Trump Lies About Whitaker for a Reason

In a Nov. 16 interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, Trump said with a straight face that he had no idea Whitaker held views that were hostile to the Mueller investigation. He claimed not to know that Whitaker-as-CNN pundit had outlined the very strategy that Trump has now employed: fire Sessions and appoint a loyalist lackey who is hostile to the Mueller probe.

But during an interview with the Daily Caller only two days earlier, a reporter’s question about the new acting attorney general caused Trump to make the immediate and obvious connection between Whitaker’s appointment and the Russia probe. Trump said:

“I knew him only as he pertained, you know, as he was with Jeff Sessions. And, you know, look, as far as I’m concerned this is an investigation that should have never been brought. It should have never been had. It’s something that should have never been brought. It’s an illegal investigation.”

It was another “Lester Holt moment.” Just as Trump had admitted on national television that he fired James Comey because Comey was allowing “the Russia thing” to proceed, so, too, Trump acknowledged to the Daily Caller his true motive for firing Sessions and appointing Whitaker: the Russia investigation.

Whitaker Can’t Win This One

Blinded by ambition and personal loyalty to Trump, Whitaker won Sessions’ job. Assuming the federal courts don’t boot him first, he’s still destined for an ignominious end. After completIng Trump’s assigned mission, he’ll go the way of all Trump lackeys who outlive their usefulness. Like them, he will have planted himself firmly on the wrong side of history; his reputation will lie in tatters; his legacy will be another page in the dark chapter of American history known as the Trump era.

It’s the Trumpian way. Call it the reverse-King Midas touch. There’s no honor in becoming Trump’s Roy Cohn.

Here are the latest updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

AUG. 27-28, 2016: Smith Meets with Hackers in DC

AUGUST 2017: McGahn Pressures Sessions to Hire Whitaker

SEPT. 22, 2017: Sessions Yields to White House Pressure; Whitaker Becomes Sessions’ Chief of Staff, West Wing’s ‘Eyes and Ears’ at DOJ (revision of previous entry)

AUG. 13, 2018: Another Judge Rejects Challenges to Mueller’s Authority (revision of previous entry)

AUG. 22, 2018: Court Filing Refers Mysteriously to Assange

NOV. 12, 2018: Corsi Says He Expects to Be Indicted; Doesn’t Recall Meeting Assange

NOV. 12, 2018: Trump Refuses to Sign Int’l Cyberattack Attack Accord

NOV. 13, 2018: State of Maryland Challenges Whitaker Appointment

NOV. 14, 2018: McConnell Blocks Bill to Protect Mueller

NOV. 14, 2018: Gates Still Cooperating: Sentencing Process Delayed

NOV. 14, 2018: Trump Pleased with Whitaker

NOV. 15, 2018: Trump Tweets about ‘Inner Workings’ of Mueller Probe; Lies About Mueller; Decries ‘Witch Hunt’; Slams Others

NOV. 15, 2018: Graham: Whitaker Sees No Reason to Fire Mueller

NOV. 16, 2018: Papadopoulos Seeks Postponement

NOV. 16, 2018: Trump Comments on Mueller ‘Hoax’ and Answers to Written Questions

NOV. 16, 2018: Comey Responds to GOP Congressional Demands

NOV. 16, 2018: Trump Trusts Whitaker to Do ‘What’s Right’, Claims Ignorance of Whitaker’s Views about Mueller Probe

NOV. 18. 2018: Trump Attacks Schiff, Mueller

 

 

 

The Trump-Russia Timeline is particularly useful this week. It helps seemingly unrelated pieces of the puzzle come together. The emerging picture is frightening.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions “resigned” — at Trump’s request. The more appropriate employment law concept for his departure is “constructive discharge” — that’s when a hostile work environment drives an employee from a job. Whatever the reason, the implications for the country are profound: Trump has begun his final assault on special counsel Robert Mueller and the rule of law. American democracy’s alarm bells are blaring.

This is not a drill.

Mueller Protector Gone

When Sessions recused himself from the Mueller probe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein assumed supervisory responsibility for the investigation. The results through Nov. 13, 2018: criminal charges against 32 individuals and 3 entities; guilty pleas from several prominent Trump advisers, including former national security adviser Mike Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and deputy campaign Rick Gates; jury verdicts against campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Mueller isn’t done. Absent interference, more indictments and a final report are coming. But compared to all previous special counsels, he has already achieved stunning results in record time. For example, the Iran-Contra and Whitewater investigations and related proceedings each continued for more than four years and yielded far less.

Matthew Whitaker’s Mission

This week, Matthew Whitaker became Trump’s latest assault weapon. For that, Whitaker earns his own pop-up bubble and name filter on the Trump-Russia Timeline. He could be on his way to earning an orange jumpsuit, too.

Trump chose Whitaker to complete a mission: end the federal investigations that threaten Trump’s presidency, his wealth, and even his personal freedom. Any doubters need look no farther than Whitaker’s record before Sept. 22, 2017, when he became Sessions’ chief of staff at the Justice Department.

Whitaker Has A Mueller Problem

Sam Clovis was national co-chairman of the Trump campaign. In 2014, he had run unsuccessfully for the Iowa Republican nomination to the US Senate. So did Matthew Whitaker. They became such good friends that Whitaker ran Clovis’ next campaign — for Iowa state treasurer, also in 2014. Clovis lost that one, too, but the two men remained friends.

Here’s the thing: Clovis has appeared before Mueller’s grand jury. To see why, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on his name. Clovis intersects with several important Trump-Russia players: including George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. Click on all three names and look at the resulting entries to get a small sample the breadth and depth of Clovis’s Trump-Russia problems.

Here’s the punchline: Shortly after Clovis’ grand jury appearance and Papadopoulos’ guilty plea identifying Clovis as the recipient of emails relating to Trump campaign contacts with Russia, Clovis withdrew his nomination to become Trump’s top scientist for the US Department of Agriculture — a position he was never qualified to hold.

Whitaker Has A Bias Problem

From October 2014 to September 2017, Whitaker was executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). The organization publicizes what it describes as ethical lapses by prominent Democrats and asks government agencies and law enforcement to investigate them. In other words, Whitaker was a GOP attack dog.

Immediately before Whitaker joined Trump’s Justice Department, he was a paid legal commentator for CNN — a gig that Clovis recommended he pursue. Among Whitaker’s stated opinions:

— Hillary Clinton should have been indicted (he wrote that in a July 2016 op-ed complaining about Comey’s explanation for not recommending prosecution);

— There was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign;

— Donald Trump Jr. did nothing wrong in meeting with Russians at Trump Tower in June 2016;

— Mueller would exceed his mandate if he ventured into the financial affairs of Trump or his family;

— One way to kill the Mueller probe would be for Trump to fire Sessions, name an acting AG who could then cut Mueller’s budget and starve the investigation to death.

And so on, and so on, and so on….

Whitaker has other baggage. Beginning in October 2014, he was an advisory board member for a scam company that the federal government shut down in May 2017. The FBI still has an active criminal investigation on the company. If Whitaker keeps his job as head of the Justice Department, he’ll be in ultimate charge of all DOJ agencies, including the FBI.

And for the lawyers in the audience, Whitaker thinks Marbury v. Madison — the seminal case establishing the federal courts’ power to review the constitutionality of legislation — is a “bad ruling.” He also said “good judges” follow the New Testament.

As for whether he’ll remain in the position that he nominally holds, a bipartisan group of lawyers and legal scholars — including Kellyanne Conway‘s husband — insists that his appointment is unconstitutional.

America Has a Whitaker Problem

Reportedly, Whitaker has already told aides that, even though the DOJ’s ethics experts should review Whitaker’s conflicts of interest and admitted biases, he will not recuse himself from the Mueller’s probe.

Why?

Here’s what CNN reported last week:

“‘He’s political to his core,’ a friend said of Whitaker.

“Several GOP officials in Iowa who have known Whitaker for a long time say they were surprised by his shift in the Trump era. He was a George W. Bush loyalist — named a former US attorney in Iowa under Bush — but like many others, he has become a big admirer of Trump along the way.

“‘He worships him,’ a longtime friend said of Whitaker and Trump.”

American democracy’s alarm bells are blaring. This is not a drill.

Here’s the complete list of the latest updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

OCTOBER 2014: Whitaker Participates in GOP Assault on Democrats; Involved in Scam Company

NOV. 4, 2014: Clovis Loses Bid to Become Iowa State Treasurer

AUGUST 2015: Trump-Pecker Deal To Silence Women

JULY 5, 2016: Whitaker Says He Would Have Indicted Clinton

AUG. 4, 2016: Stone Talks About WikiLeaks’ Impending Releases

OCT. 3-4, 2016: Stone and Bannon Discuss WikiLeaks and Raising ‘$$$’

OCT. 26, 2016: Cohen Signs Non-Disclosure Agreement With Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) (revision of previous entry)

MARCH 3, 2017: Whitaker Says Trump-Russia Conspiracy ‘Crazy’

JUNE 21, 2017: Whitaker Says ‘No Collusion’

JULY 10, 2017: Whitaker Defends Don Jr.’s Trump Tower Meeting; Gets Trump’s Attention

JULY 26, 2017: Whitaker Outlines Strategy For Killing Mueller Probe

AUG. 6, 2017: Whitaker: Mueller Investigation ‘Going Too Far’; Tweet ‘To Trump Lawyers’

AUG. 7, 2017: Whitaker Fears Mueller ‘Fishing Expedition’

SEPT. 22, 2017: Whitaker Becomes Sessions’ Chief of Staff, West Wing’s ‘Eyes and Ears’ at DOJ

SEPT. 7, 2018: Credico Appears Before Mueller’s Grand Jury; Corsi Initially Bows Out, But Appears Two Weeks Later (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 11, 2018: Trump: ‘Matt Whitaker’s a Great Guy… I Know Him”

DURING THE WEEK OF OCT. 22, 2018: Mueller Reports Pay-Off Scheme to FBI

OCT. 23, 2018: Trump: I ‘Probably Will‘ Meet With Putin in Paris on November 10-11 (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 26, 2018: Mueller Questions Bannon About Stone

NOV 2, 2018: Kremlin: Putin and Trump to Meet at G-20 in Buenos Aires

NOV. 5-11, 2018: Trump Says He Won’t Meet With Putin In Paris; Kremlin Disagrees; They Meet

NOV. 6, 2018: Election Day: Rohrabacher Loses; Democrats Win House; Republicans Keep Senate

NOV. 7, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller ‘Witch Hunt’

NOV. 7, 2018: Trump Fires Sessions; Whitaker Becomes Acting AG

NOV. 9, 2018: Trump: ‘I Don’t Know Matt Whitaker’; Didn’t Discuss Mueller Probe With Him, Russia ‘Hoax’

NOV. 9, 2018: Court Wants Briefs on Impact of Whitaker Replacing Sessions

NOV. 9, 2018: Trump Defends Whitaker