Maryland goes to court to challenge
Trump's attorney general pick
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[November 14, 2018]
By Sarah N. Lynch and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The state of
Maryland launched a court challenge on Tuesday to the legality of
President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting U.S.
attorney general, saying the president overstepped his constitutional
authority and broke federal law.
Trump installed Whitaker as acting attorney general last week after
ordering Jeff Sessions to resign from the post. Trump had repeatedly
criticized Sessions for recusing himself in March 2017 from the federal
investigation, now headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, into
Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election, a probe Trump has called a
"witch hunt."
Congressional Democrats have voiced concern that Whitaker, a Trump
loyalist, could undermine or even fire Mueller.
Maryland asked U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Baltimore to bar
Whitaker from appearing in an official capacity as acting attorney
general in its ongoing lawsuit against the administration over the
Affordable Care Act healthcare law. The state asked the judge to
substitute Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in Whitaker's place.
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The city of San Francisco, also involved in litigation against the Trump
administration, on Monday told the Justice Department it may sue to
challenge Whitaker's appointment.
Whitaker's elevation as the top U.S. law enforcement official gives him,
rather than Rosenstein, authority over Mueller's investigation, which
already has led to criminal charges against a series of former Trump
aides and has cast a cloud over Trump's presidency.
Whitaker, who had served as chief of staff for Sessions, previously
questioned the scope of Mueller's investigation and spoke about the idea
of reducing funding for the special counsel so the probe "grinds to
almost a halt."
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, said the state plans
to challenge Whitaker's appointment on two legal grounds.
Maryland argues that Rosenstein, the department's No. 2 official, should
have succeeded Sessions under a federal succession law that vests full
authority in the deputy attorney general should the office of attorney
general become vacant. The state also argues that the Republican
president violated the so-called Appointments Clause of the U.S.
Constitution because the job of attorney general is a "principal
officer" who must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the
Senate.
Maryland's legal filing states that Trump "might reasonably be seen as
appointing a loyalist in a way that deliberately circumvents the
Senate's constitutional advice-and-consent role."
White House communications director Mercedes Schlapp told Fox News on
Tuesday Trump had "full and legal authority" to appoint Whitaker.
'UNQUALIFIED AND UNCONFIRMED'
"The Attorney General's succession statute and the Constitution protect
the country against exactly what President Trump has attempted to do
here - pluck an unqualified and unconfirmed partisan to be the nation's
chief law enforcement officer in order to protect himself rather than
the rule of law," Frosh said in a statement.
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![](../images/111418pics/news_a52.jpg)
Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is pictured in an
undated photo obtained by Reuters, Nov. 8, 2018. Courtesy U.S.
Department of Justice/via REUTERS/File Photo/File Photo
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Maryland's challenge came as part of its litigation filed against
the administration in September after Sessions declined to defend
the Affordable Care Act's protection of people with pre-existing
medical conditions in a separate lawsuit led by Texas. The
Affordable Care Act is often called Obamacare.
Frosh and the Democratic attorney general for the District of
Columbia are pursuing separate litigation alleging that Trump's
business dealings have violated a constitutional anti-corruption
provision.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, on Tuesday called on the panel's Republican chairman,
Senator Chuck Grassley, to quickly hold hearings with Whitaker and
Sessions, who was ousted by Trump a day after his party lost control
of the House of Representatives in midterm congressional elections.
The circumstances surrounding the departure of Sessions "raise
serious questions" about the legality of Whitaker's appointment and
possible impact on Mueller's investigation, Feinstein wrote in a
letter to Grassley.
Grassley last week said he looked forward to working with Whitaker,
a former federal prosecutor in the senator's home state of Iowa who
he has known for years.
Democrats and other critics urged Whitaker to step aside from
overseeing Mueller's investigation. On Monday, the Justice
Department said Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about
any matters that could require recusal.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the
litigation. The department is expected in the near future to issue a
legal opinion defending Whitaker's appointment.
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With Sessions recused, Rosenstein appointed Mueller after Trump
fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017. The FBI had been in
charge of the Russia probe.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Susan Heavey; Additional reporting
by Brendan O'Brien; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott
and James Dalgleish)
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