Q: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
DOJ Alumni Statement Regarding the Appointment of Matthew Whitaker and the Rule of Law 
  
 Protect Democracy Press Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 4, 2018 
  
 We, the undersigned, are proud alumni of the United States Department of Justice. We have served under Senate-confirmed Attorneys General who come from both political parties. 
  
 Because of our respect for our oaths of office and our personal experiences carrying out the Department’s mission, we are disturbed by the President’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General. We know that overseeing the Department of Justice is one of the most important roles in our government. The Attorney General is responsible for ensuring that we are a nation of laws and that every citizen and every government official — including the President himself — is equally subject to those laws. Because of the profound responsibilities the position entails and the independence it requires, it can only be filled by someone who has been subjected to the strictest scrutiny under the process required by the Constitution. 
  
 Mr. Whitaker has not been confirmed by the Senate, his qualifications to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer have not been publicly reviewed, and he has not been fully vetted for any potential conflicts of interest. While we know that there are thousands of dedicated public servants now at the Department who will do their utmost to protect its mission and reputation, it falls to all of us to ensure that the Department’s role in maintaining the rule of law is not undermined or tainted. We therefore call on the President to follow the Constitutional process by nominating an Attorney General, and replacing Mr. Whitaker as Acting Attorney General with the Senate-confirmed official who is next in the line of succession by operation of federal law. We likewise call on the Senate to insist that its Constitutional prerogative to provide advice and consent be respected. 
  
 If you are a former DOJ employee and would like to add your name below, click here. This list will be updated twice daily with new signatories. ||||| Matthew Whitaker is the Acting Attorney General, which former cyclist Floyd Landis is challenging as part of his settlement with the Department of Justice. (Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP) 
  
 WASHINGTON – More than 400 former Justice Department attorneys and staffers called for the removal of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker in a statement circulated Tuesday, claiming that his appointment violated the Constitution because he lacked Senate confirmation required of other Cabinet officials. 
  
 The statement, organized by the government watchdog group Protect Democracy, was signed by the Justice alums, many of whom served both Democratic and Republican administrations. 
  
 "Because of our respect for our oaths of office and our personal experiences carrying out the department’s mission, we are disturbed by the president’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General," the statement read. "Because of the profound responsibilities the position entails and the independence it requires, it can only be filled by someone who has been subjected to the strictest scrutiny under the process required by the Constitution." 
  
 The opposition statement comes as a number of pending legal actions challenge the temporary replacement for fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. 
  
 More: Senate Democrats launch legal challenge to Trump's appointment of acting Attorney General Whitaker 
  
 More: Maryland files federal court challenge asking judge to block Whitaker, install Rosenstein 
  
 More: Sessions ouster fuels fear Trump is trying to impede Robert Mueller's probe 
  
 Whitaker's appointment also has drawn fire because of his past public statements, which criticized the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election led by Justice special counsel Robert Mueller. 
  
 As acting attorney general, Whitaker now oversees that investigation. 
  
 The Justice Department has defended Whitaker's appointment, asserting in a written opinion that his senior executive status as Sessions' former chief of staff “unquestionably” authorized him to serve despite his lack of Senate confirmation. 
  
 Mark Zanides, a former anti-terrorism chief in the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office that Mueller once led, strongly opposed Whitaker, saying that he lacked both Senate approval and "the adequate experience necessary to serve as the nation's chief law enforcement officer." 
  
 "This guy is not qualified – period," said Zanides, who served in the San Francisco office from 1979 to 2006. 
  
 The statement went on to call on Trump to "follow the constitutional process by ... replacing Mr. Whitaker as acting attorney general with the Senate-confirmed official who is next in line of succession by operation of federal law." 
  
 That official, according to the pending legal challenges, would be Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. 
  
 CLOSE Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker returned to his home state of Iowa Wednesday to speak at a conference on elder abuse and meet with prosecutors and state local law enforcers. (Nov. 14) AP 
  
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/04/former-justice-officials-call-acting-attorney-general-matthew-whitakers-removal/2207149002/ ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
  
 By Pete Williams 
  
 WASHINGTON — More than 400 former employees of the Justice Department have signed a statement released Tuesday opposing President Donald Trump's appointment of Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general. 
  
 Because Whitaker hasn't been confirmed by the Senate, his qualifications have not been publicly reviewed and there's been no vetting for potential conflicts of interest, they say. 
  
 "Because of our respect for our oaths of office and our personal experiences carrying out the Department's mission, we are disturbed by the President's appointment of Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General," the statement says. 
  
 "The Attorney General is responsible for ensuring that we are a nation of laws and that every citizen and every government official — including the President himself — is equally subject to those laws," the statement continues. "Because of the profound responsibilities the position entails and the independence it requires, it can only be filled by someone who has been subjected to the strictest scrutiny under the process required by the Constitution." 
  
 The former DOJ employees call on Trump to nominate someone to succeed Jeff Sessions, whom the president fired last month, and, in the meantime, to put a Senate-confirmed person in the acting attorney general position. 
  
 Protect Democracy, which organized the effort, said that the signatories "have served under administrations of both parties" and that the vast majority were non-partisan career civil servants. 
  
 "However, the signatories were sufficiently concerned about Whitaker's appointment and the impact on the rule of law to sign this statement," Protect Democracy said. 
  
 The list of those who signed the statement includes past career and political DOJ employees, including appointees of Clinton and Obama. Among them are Matt Miller, former spokesman for Eric Holder and current MSNBC analyst, and Prof. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, who was briefly a consultant during the Obama administration. |||||
A:
Hundreds of former Justice Department officials have signed a letter saying they are "disturbed" by President Trump's appointment of Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general. In the letter, circulated by the Protect Democracy watchdog group, more than 400 Justice alumni urge the president to "follow the constitutional process by nominating an attorney general, and replacing Mr. Whitaker as acting attorney general with the Senate-confirmed official who is next in the line of succession by operation of federal law." They warn that Whitaker's qualifications have not been publicly reviewed, he has not been confirmed by the Senate, and he has not been vetted for possible conflicts of interest. It "falls to all of us," they write, to ensure the department's "role in maintaining the rule of law is not undermined or tainted." Protect Democracy describes itself as a nonpartisan group, and the letter states that the signatories "served under Senate-confirmed attorneys general who come from both political parties," NBC News reports. The letter says the responsibilities of the position require somebody who has been subject to the "strictest scrutiny" as required by the Constitution, though Justice Department officials have argued that Whitaker's former position as Jeff Sessions' chief of staff "unquestionably" qualifies him for the role, reports USA Today. (Advocacy groups are asking questions about Whitaker's financial disclosures.)