ask rod rosenstein why he was conspiring against the president of the united states in a way that would overthrow him. heather: they expect they delayed it long enough that it won t happen. i suspect rod rosenstein won t be testifying to congress anytime soon about his jokes about wiretapping the president and invoking the 25th amendment. heather: the justice department says donald trump did not break the law when he sidestepped the deputy attorney general and appointed someone else to the job. do you believe that to be correct? i don t even think it is close. federal law allows the appointment of mister whitaker. when you review the opinion of the justice department, you recognize this is been done since the beginning of the country. george washington and other early presidents since the nation s founding appointed people in similar circumstances as mister whitaker to run cabinet agencies. in the 1800s, 850 times.
thank you very much. the justice department says the president s decision to choose matthew whitaker to head up the doj is a legitimate move even though whitaker has not been senate confirmed but it is only getting more aggressive. john barrasso who chairs the republican policy committee, good to have you with us today. the doj, congressional action, past president election including barack obama on this front. and the next house speaker nancy pelosi says whitaker is unfit. the president s action is extremely dubious legal grounds, the president is dodging the senate confirmation process, a political lackey at the helm of the doj solely to abstract the mueller investigation. your take? a legitimate temporary
senator jeff flake threatening to block judicial nominee until the senate can protect the investigation. katherine herridge has all the details. reporter: the 20 page legal opinion back donald trump s appointment of acting attorney general matt whitaker, relying on the federal vacancy reform act, the office of legal counsel found senate confirmation is not required if the appointment is temporary. the constitutionality of mister whitaker s designation is supported by supreme court precedent, acts of congress and countless examples of executive practice. under the justice farm in succession statute the acting attorney general s job, rod rosenstein who until recently oversaw the robert mueller probe. the office of legal counsel found the president may use vacancy reform act as an alternative which is recognized and used by presidents bush and obama. this turn to the impact on
judicial nominees, legislation protecting the probe for a full senate for the vote. this complicates republican efforts with with the president s nominees forward by the end of the year. the improper installation of an acting attorney general who has not been subject to confirmation by this body, the president has this investigation in his sites and we all know it. reporter: the justice department released a 20 page legal opinion backing donald trump s appointment of matt whitaker as attorney general. a key issue goes to senate confirmation. that the permit of legal counsel which provides legal guidance to the federal government found senate confirmation is not required if the appointment is temporary writing the constitutionality of mister whitaker s resignation is supported by supreme court precedent, by acts of congress in 3 different countries and executive practice. under the justice department succession statute after
from and praising whitaker. matthew jean whitaker is a highly respected us and in from iowa chosen by jeff sessions to be chief of staff. i did not know mister whitaker. likewise i did not know mister whitaker except primarily as he trialed with ag sessions, no social contact. katherine herridge tells us where things stand for whitaker tonight. reporter: according federal trade commission records in the 2014 media release, matt whitaker was on the advisory board of a $26 million by the ftc, the press release quotes whitaker saying as a former us attorney i would only align myself with a first-class organization, marketing goods beyond statements about doing business ethically and translate them into action. ftc investigation found the company, quote, allegedly built millions from consumers and suppressed criticism. he was very highly thought of and still is highly thought of. donald trump defended whitaker s credentials. this comes up because anybody