Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, testifies publicly for the first time [ Ссылка ]
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker prepared to tell a House panel Friday that he hadn't changed the management of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation during his three months in charge of the Justice Department and that law-enforcement decisions are "independent of any outside interference."
“There has been no change in the overall management of the special counsel investigation,” Whitaker told the House Judiciary Committee in a prepared statement. “I have and will continue to manage this investigation in a manner that is consistent with the governing regulations.”
But Whitaker also warned lawmakers that he would not tell them about conversations with President Donald Trump, a decision likely to frustrate House Democrats eager to know whether the White House had sought to interfere in the criminal investigations surrounding the president. Whitaker had publicly criticized the special counsel investigation before he came to the Justice Department.
“I will seek to answer the committee’s questions today, as best as I can, but I also must make clear that I will continue the longstanding executive branch policy and practice of not disclosing information that may be subject to executive privilege, such as the contents of deliberations or conversations with the president,” Whitaker said in the statement.
Whitaker assured lawmakers he was committed to the Justice Department’s integrity and that law-enforcement decisions are based on the facts of each case “independent of any outside interference.”
Whitaker volunteered to testify in what was likely to become his only appearance before Congress because the Senate could move as early as next week to confirm his permanent replacement, William Barr. The appearance followed negotiations Thursday, after the committee authorized a subpoena for his testimony that Whitaker argued was unnecessary.
Lawmakers hope to press Whitaker on his oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and a separate inquiry into illegal payments to hide possible sex scandals in the final months of Trump's campaign.
Investigations by several committees are a main source of friction between the White House and Democrats who took control of the House of Representatives in January. Trump used his State of the Union speech Tuesday to criticize "ridiculous partisan investigations." But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the statement a threat and said lawmakers would be delinquent if they didn't conduct oversight investigations.
The House chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., provided Whitaker with questions in a Jan. 22 letter that covered his decision not to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller's investigation, whether Whitaker had passed along information from Mueller briefings to Trump and what Trump said after the convictions of former aides.
Nadler provided the questions because of concerns Whitaker would invoke executive privilege, to avoid disclosing confidential communications with the president. The committee authorized Nadler in a Thursday vote to subpoena Whitaker's testimony if he failed to attend the hearing or declined to answer questions without invoking executive privilege.
Whitaker replied with a letter Thursday saying he wanted to testify about the department's important work, but refusing to testify under threat of subpoena.
"Political theater is not the purpose of an oversight hearing," Whitaker said in a statement.
Nadler replied in a letter that if Whitaker answered questions, there would be no need for a subpoena. "To the extent that you believe you are unable to fully respond to any specific question, we are prepared to handle your concerns on a case-by-case basis, both during and after tomorrow’s hearing," Nadler wrote.
Trump, who has called Mueller's probe a "witch hunt," supported Whitaker on Thursday.
"I would say, if he did testify, he'd do very well," Trump said. "He's an outstanding person. A very, very fine man."
Friday's hearing promised to be the only chance Congress would get to question Whitaker, whom Trump named as acting attorney general after ousting then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November.
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