The Internet is exploding with the breaking news that the man President Donald Trump installed as Acting Attorney General was a paid advisor to a company that has been under criminal investigation by federal authorities.
That man, Matthew Whitaker, who replaced fired AG Jeff Sessions, had himself also been under federal scrutiny. It is unclear if he currently is. Also, Whitaker reportedly was in regular contact with Trump while serving as Sessions’ chief of staff before being promoted. Some are saying that he may have been acting as Trump’s “spy” inside the Dept. of Justice.
First with the news was The Wall Street Journal.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation of a Florida company accused of scamming millions from customers during the period that Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. attorney general, served as a paid advisory-board member.”
Next, The Washington Post added more information.
“Federal investigators last year looked into whether Matthew G. Whitaker, as an advisory board member of a Miami patent company accused of fraud by customers, played a role in trying to help the company silence critics by threatening legal action.”
It gets worse.
Whitaker’s connection to the company “came as a surprise to both senior Justice Department and White House officials, several officials said.”
That was a senior reporter for The Guardian.
And, it gets worse again:
And, even worse, again:
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes appears to be apoplectic:
That apparently was just the start:
This Washington Post reporter sums up one interesting detail:
This journalist has a simple question: “was he even vetted?”
This national security and civil liberties journalist makes this stunning observation:
Wait. What was that about being called a “fucking fool”?
Meanwhile, citing a Vox article, this ShareBlue editor notes another reason why Trump likes Whitaker so much:
CNN’s Keith Boykin calls it: Trump’s personal spy: