Wyden Statement on Trump’s Appointment of Matt Whitaker as Acting Attorney General to Protect Himself from Mueller Investigation

Washington, D.C. –Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., warned against any interference in Robert Mueller’s investigation following the announcement that Matt Whitaker would be named acting attorney general.

Last year, Whitaker speculated that Trump would fire Jeff Sessions and appoint a replacement to cut Mueller’s budget and prevent Mueller from continuing a full investigation of Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia. He also asserted that any Mueller investigation into Trump’s financial ties to Russia would be a “witch hunt.”

Wyden released the following statement:

“Donald Trump must be terrified about what Robert Mueller’s investigation has uncovered.

“Trump is desperately trying to protect himself and his cronies from justice by installing a political hack as acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker has openly called for restrictions on Mueller’s investigation and described a game plan to obstruct Mueller from doing his job and getting to the bottom of Russia’s interference in our democracy. Given these comments, at a minimum, he should recuse himself from the special counsel’s investigation.

“Whitaker’s appointment raises blaring alarms about the acceleration of obstruction of justice and a fundamental attack on the rule of law in our country. Congress must act right now to protect the special counsel’s investigation.”

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