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Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants the DOJ inspector general to investigate President Trump's relationship and correspondence with Matthew Whitaker in the wake of his appointment to acting attorney general. Trump gave Whitaker the role after ousting former AG Jeff Sessions. Democrats are outraged for at least two reasons. One, that Whitaker has publicly criticized Robert Mueller's Russia probe and two, that Whitaker did not get Senate approval for the new position. They argue that under the succession statute, the role of acting AG rightfully belongs to Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. Schumer adds that if Whitaker remains in the role, he...

Three Democratic senators on Monday filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of President Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. Whitaker was appointed by Trump to lead the Justice Department after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced out of the role earlier this month. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono filed the complaint against Whitaker in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday. All three issues fiery statements. “Installing Matthew Whitaker so flagrantly defies constitutional law that any viewer of School House Rock...

In a highly unusual move, lawyer Tom Goldstein asked the US Supreme Court on Friday evening to declare Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as the acting attorney general, instead of Matthew Whitaker who currently holds the job. Goldstein also represented Maryland's Attorney General in a similar court filing at the district court level earlier this week. Goldstein's motion was filed in connection with a gun rights case that is before the Supreme Court as a petition for a writ of certiorari, meaning the nine Justices will meet in conference at a date still to be determined to decide whether to...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered his thoughts on who should replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions during an interview with Breitbart News Deputy Political Editor Amanda House. “I think your cabinet needs to have people in it who agree with you,” Paul said when asked if he was happy about Sessions’ departure. “I think for a long time Jeff Sessions hasn’t really been working for what the president would like him to do.” “I also think that there are some big reforms that we need of our justice and our intelligence agencies, and I think justice can be part of...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley brushed aside demands to hold a hearing on the ouster of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the designation of Matthew Whitaker as his acting replacement, saying Thursday that the law appears to have been followed. Mr. Grassley also said it was “ironic” that Democrats are now intent on defending Mr. Sessions, who they excoriated for the nearly two years he was in office. The Iowa Republican said he’s confident President Trump followed the Vacancies Reform Act in naming Mr. Whitaker, who was not in a Senate-confirmed position but who, according to the...

Newly appointed Acting AG Whitaker is obviously a force to be reckoned with and immediately took on Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer has already jumped on the call for the Acting AG to recuse himself, but he is no longer dealing with Jeff Sessions. It is clear that Special Counsel Robert Muller’s Russia probe will be closely overseen by Acting AG Matthew Whitaker. That has had liberal noggins exploding all over the beltway since he was announced. As Written and Reported By Matt Vespa for Townhall: President Trump fired Jeff Sessions from his attorney general post yesterday. Matthew Whitaker...

President Obama is sidestepping the Senate to directly fill the No. 2 position at the Justice Department and appoint four U.S. ambassadors whose nominations had been stalled or blocked by lawmakers for months. The White House on Wednesday said Mr. Obama is using a recess appointment to install James Cole as the deputy attorney general and ... Senators had blocked or refused to consider the confirmations of the nominees for various reasons, including questions about their qualifications. ... Recess appointments are made when the Senate is not in session and last only until the end of the next session...

Eric Schneiderman, the embattled former New York Attorney General who stepped down from his post after multiple women came forward with allegations of assault, will not face criminal charges for the incidents reported, the prosecutor tasked with overseeing the case told CNN. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas told CNN Thursday morning that her team interviewed members of Schneiderman’s security detail, employees who worked with him at the New York Attorney General’s office and witnesses. Singas was appointed to be the special prosecutor overseeing the investigation. “I personally interviewed each of the women who cooperated with our investigation along with...

President Trump is “very seriously” considering whether to declassify a slew of FBI and Justice Department records related to the Russia investigation, he said Wednesday. That controversial proposal, which Trump has toyed with for months, may have a backer in Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general. “Declassification, we’re looking at very seriously,” Trump told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday, just before Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to resign. Whitaker, who served as Sessions’ chief of staff, will take over as acting attorney general. In that role, he will oversee the special counsel’s investigation into Trump associates’ links...

Breaking. Sessions stepping down, letter of resignation given, Rosenstein out as overseer of the Mueller investigation

Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview Monday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may step down after this week’s midterm elections. “Jeff will probably step down. We’ll have a new attorney general most likely early next year,” Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said on conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt’s radio program.

It’s no secret that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ days as Attorney General are numbered. The main questions are: (1) How will his exit be handled and (2) Who will replace him. I have no insight as to the second question. One hears names like Matthew Whitaker (a former U.S. Attorney — and University of Iowa football player — who currently is Sessions’ chief of staff); Alex Azar, the Secretary of HHS (and not to confused with Alex Acosta); and Rep. John Ratcliffe (another former U.S. Attorney). However, I have no idea whether or to what degree these three (and others)...

Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos confirmed this week that he has asked state Attorney General Ken Paxton to open an investigation into the Democratic Party’s attempts to ask non-citizens to sign up to vote. “The numerous calls and complaints we have received regarding pre-filled voter registration applications sent to ineligible voters are highly disturbing,” Mr. Pablos said in a statement Monday. He was referring to mail the state Democratic Party sent out urging people to sign up to vote, and warning of deadlines if they didn’t act quickly. The mailing included a voter application that already had the boxes...

Fortunately for our country, Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn’t have much more time left in his job. Once the Nov. 6 midterm elections are over, President Trump is widely expected to belatedly accept the letter of resignation tendered by Sessions in May 2017. Hopefully, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will also leave the Justice Department when Sessions heads out the door. Both Sessions and Rosenstein have done enormous damage to the Trump presidency, our nation and our system of justice. We will all be better off with them out of their jobs. As the old saying goes, “good riddance to...

AGJeff Sessions is telling Justice Department lawyers to push back against federal judges who have imposed nationwide injunctions against many of the Trump administration’s policies. "A number of such injunctions in recent years have brought to the fore 'the problem of judges acting outside the bounds of their authority' and granting relief that reaches far beyond the confines of the particular case or controversy before them,”.. adding, “Consistent with the longstanding position of the Ex. Branch under Administrations of both parties, the Dept.of Justice opposes the issuance of such nationwide injunctions.” In the memo, Sessions tells lawyers to remind the...

Attorney General Sessions today issued the following statement on the Election Security Executive Order: “The American people will not tolerate attempts to undermine the integrity of our electoral process—especially by foreign countries and other bad actors. President Trump is committed to taking definitive action to prevent anyone—foreign or domestic—from illegally interfering in our elections, and the Department of Justice is proud to support him in this mission. “Pursuant to the President’s executive order, the Department will work with our partners at the State Department, Treasury Department, and Department of Homeland Security, in order to identify enemies of our country who...

New York Democratic attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout said she wants to prosecute U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency officials if elected. Teachout, a professor at Fordham University, called for the abolishment of the agency in a video released Wednesday, saying she believes ICE “is a tool of cruelty, unconstitutional behavior, illegality.” Teachout is one of many Democratic candidates who have backed the “Abolish ICE” movement. “As attorney general, I will continue to speak out against ICE. I will prosecute ICE for their criminal acts,” Teachout said. “We have stories of consistent abuse within ICE.” (RELATED: Democrats Have ‘Abolish...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Rep. Keith Ellison asked himself the question that lingers over his political career before any of the 1,000-plus supporters at his recent rally could: Why was he leaving the safe congressional district he’s represented for more than a decade to run for state attorney general? “Attorneys general all over this country led the fight against this Muslim ban,” he said to raucous applause. “It is attorneys general that are fighting and suing to protect an open internet.” A year after falling short in his bid to chair the Democratic National Committee and with his party stuck...

U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon has denied an injunction sought by the New York Attorney General (OAG) against 13 pro-life Christians who counsel women and preach the gospel on the public sidewalks outside New York’s largest abortion business. Liberty Counsel represents defendant Scott Fitchett, Jr., who was sued with the other defendants in June 2017 by former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who wanted to shut down the Christian and pro-life speech of the defendants outside Choices Women’s Medical Center in Jamaica, NY. Fitchett is a pre-K teacher who has spent Saturdays peacefully sharing the gospel on public...

Lawsuit Hearing To Remove Xavier Becerra as California Attorney General Should the powerful be allowed to ignore or change the laws they don’t agree with? Of course not. But that issue is at the heart of a lawsuit filed in May by former Attorney General candidate Eric Early against the unelected, appointed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is running to keep his office. The case was heard Friday morning in Sacramento Superior Court. When Becerra filed his election paperwork with the California Secretary of State, he represented that he was qualified for the position of Attorney General. However, according...