In a letter published via Protect Democracy Press on Medium, more than 400 former Department of Justice employees, most of whom are attorneys and judges, have signed an open letter calling Donald Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as the acting attorney general “disturbing.” Citing constitutional requirements, the DOJ alumni are calling on Trump to nominate someone for the position of attorney general and provide the United States Senate the chance to fulfill its constitutional duty to advise and consent, seeing that nominee through a full vetting process for the sake of the rule of law.
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.
Expect the number of signers to continue to grow. Some cited Whitaker’s troubling public statements and commentary about the Mueller investigation. From Buzzfeed:
Jill Wine-Banks, a former Watergate prosecutor, said she signed the statement because of concerns not only about how Whitaker was appointed, but about whether he should step aside from any involvement in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Whitaker has been critical of the probe in the past.
“I think there are a number of reasons not to support Whitaker and a number of reasons to think he should at least recuse himself,” said Wine-Banks, now an MSNBC contributor.
It seems obvious that Whitaker is there to muck up the Mueller investigation. Nobody is above the law, not even Trump. The United States Senate should step up and provide the checks and balances it is intended to ensure.
Donald Trump has a constitutional duty to nominate someone for the role, and the United States Senate has a constitutional duty to review that person’s qualifications. We the people should be demanding nothing less.