Donald Trump speaks to reporters on White House lawn, November 9, 2018
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Amid backlash over his attempt to curb or even halt the Trump-Russia investigation, Donald Trump lies that he does not know the Acting Attorney General whom he just appointed.
Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday and named Republican political operative Matthew Whitaker, Sessions’ Chief of Staff, as the replacement.
EA with Radio FM4 and Monocle 24: Trump’s Firing of Jeff Sessions
Jeff Sessions Had to Go – and So Will Anyone Else Who Gets in Trump‘s Way
Whitaker immediately assumed oversight of the Trump-Russia inquiry of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Sessions had recused himself in March 2017 from supervision, because of his contacts during the 2016 Trump campaign with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
But Trump immediately ran into trouble over the effort to act against Mueller, who is looking to subpoena the President before questioning before completing his investigation. Critics noted:
*Whitaker’s lengthy record of comments, before his Chief of Staff appointment; condemning the Trump-Russia inquiry
*His involvement with a company investigated by the FBI over defrauding of customers and ordered last year to repay $26 million
WaPo: The acting attorney general's role as an adviser to a scam company "came as a surprise to both senior Justice Department and White House officials, several officials said." https://t.co/21MjH81Swr
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 10, 2018
*His work as executive director of a conservative foundation accusing many Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, of legal and ethical violations
*His denunciation of the fundamental principle of judicial review by the Supreme Court and insistence that judges rules based on “biblical” beliefs
Our new alleged Acting AG on confirming judges:
“I’d like to see…Are they people of faith? Do they have a biblical view of justice?…New Testament…And what I know is as long as they have that worldview, that they’ll be a good judge."https://t.co/80Eok17dqM— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) November 9, 2018
*His role as campaign manager in 2014 for Sam Clovis, who was a high-ranking Trump campaign official and is a witness in Mueller’s inquiry
Trump told reporters on Friday, “I don’t know Matt Whitaker.”
Matthew G. Whitaker is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney from Iowa. He was chosen by Jeff Sessions to be his Chief of Staff. I did not know Mr. Whitaker. Likewise, as Chief, I did not know Mr. Whitaker except primarily as he traveled with A.G. Sessions. No social contact…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
But sources confirmed that Trump noticed Whitaker on CNN in summer 2017 and immediately liked the activist’s insistence that there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. In July, White House Counsel Don McGahn interviewed Mr. Whitaker about joining Trump’s team as an “attack dog” against Mueller, but decided that Whitaker’s media punditry about the “crazy” inquiry went too far.
However, Whitaker was installed as Sessions’ Chief of Staff in October 2017 after advocacy by the right-wing Federalist Society. When Trump — after months of insulting and humiliated the Attorney General — decided in September that Sessions must go after the election, he began asking friends and associates if it was a good idea to install Whitaker.
In an October interview on Fox & Friends”, Trump said: “I can tell you Matt Whitaker’s a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.”
Yesterday, before leaving for Paris, Trump cautiously said about Whitaker’s future:
You know, it’s a shame that no matter who I put in, they go after them. It’s very sad, I have to say.
But he’s “Acting [Attorney General]”. I think he’ll do a very good job. And we’ll see what happens.
Trump’s Latest Tirade v. Press: “Stupid. Loser. Racist”
Donald Trump launches another tirade against the press, following the White House’s doctored-video campaign against CNN’s Jim Acosta.
Asked on Friday by Politico’s Abby Phillip if he is using the appointment of Matthew Whitaker to curb Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Trump replied, “What a stupid question….But I watch you a lot, you ask a lot of stupid questions.”
Trump said of April Ryan of CNN:
Trump: "The same thing with April Ryan…You talk about somebody that's a loser. She doesn't know what the hell she's doing…She's very nasty, and she shouldn't be."
– The president of the United States attacking a black reporter for doing her job pic.twitter.com/9UMw8jnih9
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 9, 2018
On Wednesday, Trump snapped at PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor, “Such a racist question….I know you have it written down.”
Yesterday Trump threatened to take the credentials of other reporters after Acosta was barred from the White House.
Trump threatens other reporters' press credentials pic.twitter.com/W0KVDKSraS
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 9, 2018
Report: Trump Directed Hush-Money Payments to Daniels and McDougal
The Wall Street Journal reports that Donald Trump directed hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal over their sexual encounters with him.
The article documents multiple instances during the 2016 campaign in which Trump intervened directly over $130,000 to Daniels and $150,000 to McDougal, via his long-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
In an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower, just after Trump announced his candidacy for the Presidency, he asked David Pecker — chief executive of American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer — “What can you do to help my campaign?”
Pecker offered to buy the silence of any women who might try to publicize affairs with Trump, according to the Journal.
The company later paid McDougal $150,000 to bury her story. When Pecker refused a similar arrangement in the Stormy Daniels case, Cohen said Trump told him to “get it done”.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes for orchestrating the payments, telling the court that Trump was criminally involved.
The Journal says the New York State attorney’s office has evidence of Trump’s involvement.
Trump has denied the claims for two years.
