This post was originally published in October and has been updated with Whitaker’s installment.
Matthew Whitaker has been appointed acting attorney General after Jeff Sessions resigned Wednesday at President Trump’s request. And suddenly, Whitaker’s past skepticism about the Russia investigation has taken on new significance.
Whitaker’s Russia commentary first cropped up when he was reported to be a likely replacement for Sessions’s No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, several weeks ago. Installing him as the temporary No. 1, though, gives Whitaker even more power. The Justice Department has indicated he will take oversight of the Russia investigation, replacing Rosenstein in that role.
