The appointment, of Matthew Whitaker, even temporary, has run into a brick wall of criticism , including some who feel his placement is illegal….
Trump is under pressure to appoint a permanent replacement that does NOT have a background of making comments about Mueller’s office pro or con….
Trump’s idea that he COULD place someone straight-out ‘loyal’ to him is causing him problems….
Trump told associates that he felt Whitaker would be “loyal” and would not have recused himself from the Russia probe as Sessions had done, according to the Republicans, who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and commented only on condition of anonymity.
On Friday, Trump said he had not spoken with Whitaker about Mueller’s investigation, which until now has been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: “It’s a shame that no matter who I put in they go after.”
“He was very, very highly thought of, and still is highly thought of, but this only comes up because anybody that works for me, they do a number on them,” Trump said.
In Kentucky, meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader McConnell said he expects Trump to nominate a new permanent attorney general “pretty quickly.” McConnell said he expects Whitaker to be “a very interim” appointee.
“The president has said repeatedly he’s not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation,” McConnell told reporters at Kentucky’s Capitol. “He’s said repeatedly it’s going to be allowed to finish. That also happens to be my view.”….
image…TalkingPoints Memo