Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appeared last week before the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY-10). Even before Whitaker appeared, there had been drama. Two weeks, Nadler had given Whitaker the questions the committee would be asking and told him that the committee was seeking notification 48 hours in advance of any questions Whitaker would not be answering due to a claim of “executive privilege.” As former U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti explained in a Twitter thread, “executive privilege” is narrowly defined, and Nadler giving Whitaker two weeks to sit with the questions should have been plenty of time for Trump and Whitaker to decide which questions would be covered. The 48-hour deadline was meant to prevent Whitaker from burning time, refusing to answer questions by saying that he’s “not sure” if this conversation or that one would be covered, and essentially running out the clock before confirmation hearings for the nominee for the position of attorney general, William Barr.
Whitaker missed the 48-hour deadline and began to waver on whether he would appear at all. Rep. Nadler and the Judiciary Committee responded by preparing a subpoena in advance. Long story short, Whitaker did appear, and from the start of the hearing, he seemed uneasy in his answers. And, of course, he did claim executive privilege.
Below are some of the lowlights of Whitaker’s appearance, including this startling moment when he informed Chairman Nadler that Nadler’s time was up. This was such a brazen moment of disrespect that there were loud gasps and laughter from observers. Watch:
Some of those gasps came from other members of the House Judiciary Committee. Roll Call photographer Tom Williams captured the reaction of Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Chairman Nadler.
Of course, there is a good reason why Whitaker wanted to stonewall around these questions.
And while Whitaker told the committee that he did not have any conversations with Donald Trump about the special counsel investigation while he was acting attorney general, he was more cagey on the investigation in the Southern District of New York, which is investigating the Trump Organization, among several Trump-related investigations. MSNBC legal analyst Matthew Miller hits on why this is important.
Did Whitaker try to interfere in the Southern District’s investigation into Trump’s orbit?
In the end, Whitaker may have given the committee all it needs to know to further the investigation. And Nadler sounds like he’s just getting started.