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Acting AG Matt Whitaker Congressional Testimony

Hugo Stiglitz

By Hugo Stiglitz
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triplehorn

triplehorn 2664

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Posted (edited)

WoW, yep:  https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4779081/whitaker-pardons

Q: @RepEscobar “...did you ever create, see or become aware of the existence of any pardons...”

A: @MattWhitaker46 LONG pause... ‘Yes I am aware of documents related to pardons of individuals...”

 

sounds like potential confirmation of industrial strength obstruction of justice in the works.

Edited by triplehorn
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 32076

Posted
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2 hours ago, Captainant said:

 

So the internet has been digging on the US Atty that sat in on the briefing, here's what they've found so far:

So digging a bit and found from yesterday a propaganda piece from Daily Signal went out.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/02/07/exclusive-record-will-show-the-truth-matt-whitaker-says-of-attacks/

The Daily Signal delivers investigative and feature reporting and the most important political news and commentary. The team is committed to truth and unmatched in knowledge of Washington’s politics and policy debates. We tell these stories in formats that respect your time and intelligence.

From Heritage Foundation.

That’s why the Heritage Foundation team created a digital-first, multimedia news platform called The Daily Signal.

And only one US Attorney contributed to the piece. Praising the leadership of Whitaker.

But Whitaker helped to defuse what could have been an uncertain time for Justice Department prosecutors across the country, recalled McGregor Scott, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, based out of Sacramento. 

“When word went out that Wednesday that General Sessions had been fired, there was a sense of shock,” Scott told The Daily Signal. “Within 24 hours, Matt was on a conference call with every single one of the U.S. attorneys in the country, with a sense of calm and a sense of ‘We have a mission that we are going to continue on with that was set by General Sessions.’ … That was a pivotal moment.”

You’re all going to love this. The CA US attorney that sat in the briefing is named Mcgregor Scott.

Prior to assuming his current role, Scott was a partner in the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where his practice focused on white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations.

This is where it gets juicy. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is an international law firm founded in San Francisco, California. It is focused on serving companies in the technology, energy & infrastructure and financial sectors globally.

A simple google search with this company and Russia turns up this from their website.  It’s an update on anti-sanction measures involving Russia and it’s worded very pro-Russian.

The Russian parliament fast-tracks two bills that give the Russian President a broad authorization to retaliate for foreign sanctions and criminalize compliance with U.S. and other foreign sanctions against Russian parties. While the practical impact of the additional authorization for the President is unclear, criminalization of compliance with the foreign sanctions may have serious negative repercussions for U.S. and European businesses operating in Russia or having other Russian exposure.

So just a few more searches about the company and i found out they have a Russian location and their website states this.

Orrick has acted for clients in Russia, the CIS and other former republics of the USSR for over two decades. Members of our International Russia and CIS practice group are Chambers-recognized in their practice areas.

So this McGregor Scott is involved with a company that’s balls deep in Russia. You tell me if he should be anywhere near the Mueller probe.

This is dumb.  Orrick is a giant law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 25 offices.

Fulbright has a Moscow office, as does BakerBotts, as do probably two dozen firms that size.  All of them have probably done work with or on behalf of oligarchs or their "firms."

Now, there may be reasons that the USA ED Ca should not be involved in these things, but a former partnership at Orrick is not one of them.

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scottsins

scottsins 2047

Posted
Posted
Question for the legal types.
He's there voluntarily, as opposed to under subpoena.  Nonetheless, absent an agreement beforehand with the committee, I don't believe that excuses him from answering questions not subject to a facially valid privilege objection.
He's still subject to contempt of Congress for refusing to give non-privileged answers, right?


I don’t have the answer, but I have another question that someone may be able to answer.

Doesn’t POTUS/WH Counsel have to be the person/entity to assert executive privilege? Or, can anyone in the executive branch assert it?
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 32076

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10 minutes ago, scottsins said:

 


I don’t have the answer, but I have another question that someone may be able to answer.

Doesn’t POTUS/WH Counsel have to be the person/entity to assert executive privilege? Or, can anyone in the executive branch assert it?

I think ultimately you're right, but from a practical standpoint, lower officers have to be able to assert it in response to individual questions, but the White House has to be "right behind" them the whole way or it's not valid.  That seemed to be a problem with the Trump White House.

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SmokeyTheBear

SmokeyTheBear 5569

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https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/matt-whitaker-trump-hotel-twitter_us_5c5e7200e4b0f9e1b17d4f68

fter an incredibly contentious hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Friday Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was spotted at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman noted the sighting on Twitter.  People who responded jabbed — nervously — at the too-close-for-comfort situation of the man who could conceivably fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller heading straight to one of the lairs of the man Mueller is investigating. One commented that Whitaker was “reporting back to daddy.” Another compared it to “Lex Luthor returning to the Legion of Doom.”

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Tuco

Tuco 5093

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My point was why is this the Dems first public shot under new house leadership?  Aren't their better shots they should be taking like emoluments??   


I assume the timing is because they are about to confirm a new AG. “Acting” AG is a lot more relevant than “former” AG. I assume they wanted to determine if ever exercised his power to slow or obstruct the investigation, and whether Trump ever pushed him to do so. I didn’t follow it to know if those questions were asked directly, or if they got pulled from the list during negotiations. If they were asked, and he lied about it, there should be consequences for him personally. If they were pulled, then you still have an opportunity to put a moron on the stand and see if he fucks up. Even if there are no legal implications to his hamfisted answers, his idiocy will play well on the late night talk show circle.
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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 90642

Posted
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4 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

watched some of this last night.  what a douche.  and the fact the president likes this guy makes him a douche by association.  anyone with any integrity would condemn whitaker for the way he presented himself yesterday.

A scared douche.  A scared douche who realizes that somebody handed him a lit stick of dynamite, and as long as he passes the dynamite (job) off cleanly to Barr, he will be just fine.  I think he’s probably cognizant enough to know that if things go south on his watch, he’s going under the bus. And they asked questions that made it clear to him that he’s out of his depth, and that they will hold him accountable.  

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