Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker attends the annual Veterans Appreciation Day ceremony at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2018. The letter lays out seven reasons for Whitaker’s decision:
1) There is no actual conflict of interest
Ethics officials analyzed if Whitaker had any professional or personal relationships that would interfere with his impartiality in overseeing the investigation. They found none.
2) There is no precedent
Whitaker reasoned that because there was no precedent for recusal due to past remarks in the media, he did not want to create a precedent for recusal in his case, despite the fact that officials advised him they would recommend a recusal. His position was bolstered by one ethics official who, the Boyd letter states, described Whitaker’s case as a “close call” and that “credible arguments could be made either way.”
3) Prior analysis said no recusal required
The Boyd letter states that what was identified by an ethics official as the "most relevant" prior department analysis concluded that recusal was not necessary.
4) Whitaker hasn’t said anything bad about Mueller recently
It has been a while (16 months) since he's made any public remarks about the Mueller probe. The reasoning here seems to be the weight of his remarks fades with time.
5) Whitaker has said nice things about Mueller, too
The Boyd letter says Whitaker has described the special counsel as a “professional,” a “good man” and that “a man of Mueller’s stature would only go after legitimate targets.” The suggestion being that such statements would provide balance his criticisms of Mueller.
6) Whitaker was unaware of any reason to fire Mueller
The letter notes that because Whitaker reportedly told Sen. Lindsey Graham on Nov. 15, that he was not aware of any reason to fire Mueller, he does not need to recuse himself.
7) He is an experienced prosecutor
With five-and-a-half years as a U.S. Attorney under a previous administration and a year and a half as chief of staff to Attorney General Sessions before becoming Acting Attorney General, Whitaker does have significant experience in the Justice Department and the letter says he is “acquainted with the ethical duties of a prosecutor and is fully committed to following the law and the facts where they lead.”
The bottom line, as the letter states, is that “the ultimate decision about whether or not to recuse from a matter in a case such as this rests with the Acting Attorney General.”
Whitaker has decided he does not need to recuse himself. A formal recommendation from ethics officials on his past media comments would say he should recuse. But such a recommendation is not required and he does not appear eager to seek it.
Kaynak:Abcnews