News

Actions

Acting AG Whitaker denies Mueller interference

Posted at 6:05 PM, Feb 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-08 20:06:06-05

(NBC News) Acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker insists he has not interfered with the Mueller investigation into Russian election interference.

As Democrats on the house judiciary committee questioned Whitaker Friday about his role overseeing the Mueller investigation and his interactions about it with President Trump, he deflected as much as he could.

He did say that he has not taken any steps to stop the investigation, nor has he talked to the White House about it.

“I do not intend today to talk about my private conversations with the president of the United States, but to answer your question, I have not talked to the president of the United States about the investigation,” Whitaker said at one point.

President Trump appointed Whitaker acting attorney general in November after Jeff Sessions resigned. He is likely in his final days in the job, as the Senate works to confirm a new attorney general.

He had been an outspoken critic of the Mueller probe before joining the Justice Department and ignored the recommendation of its ethics officials, who suggested that Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing investigation.

Read more: https://nbcnews.to/2MVS3db