Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker won’t fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The Hill reports:
Graham met with Whitaker Thursday afternoon in his Russell Building office and says the man President Trump tapped to replace ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he doesn’t see anything wrong with Mueller’s probe.
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“As to the Mueller investigation, I’m confident that it is not in jeopardy,” Graham said after meeting with Whitaker.
Graham said that Whitaker assured him that he doesn’t think that Mueller’s probe has breached any Justice Department guidelines.
“There’s no reason to fire him. I asked him, ‘Do you have any reason to [fire] Mr. Mueller? He said he has zero reason to believe anything is being done wrong with the Mueller investigation,” Graham said, recounting the conversation.
This news comes as Democrats continue to call for Whitaker’s recusal from his oversight role in the Russia investigation over past comments he has made about the Special Counsel and Robert Mueller.
In a letter to an ethics official at the Department of Justice, Democrat leaders wrote, “There are serious ethical considerations that require Mr. Whitaker’s immediate recusal from any involvement with the Special Counsel investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.”
Whitaker told radio host Andrew Wilkow that he does not believe there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“The truth is there was no collusion with the Russians and the Trump campaign,” he said. “There was interference by the Russians into the election, but that was not collusion with the campaign. That’s where the left seems to be combining those two issues.”
In the same interview, Whitaker stressed that there has been no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing with the Trump campaign and Russia. “The last thing they want right now is for the truth to come out, and for the fact that there’s not a single piece of evidence that demonstrates that the Trump campaign had any illegal or any improper relationships with the Russians,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said in a statement that Whitaker would be meeting with ethics officials to discuss the possibility of recusing himself from certain matters.
“Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures at the Department of Justice, including consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal,” said DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec.
