Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) is calling for an investigation into private conversations acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker had with the White House about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Citing recent media reports, Schumer says there’s a risk that Whitaker, who previously served as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s chief of staff before taking his job after Election Day, may have tried to interfere in Mueller’s probe.
{mosads}“I am particularly concerned about whether Mr. Whitaker may have shared with the White House, or could share in his new role, confidential grand jury or investigative information from the Special Counsel investigation or any criminal investigation,” Schumer wrote in a letter Tuesday to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Schumer cited a report published by Vox earlier this month that revealed Whitaker frequently spoke by phone with Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
He also noted a New York Times report from Nov. 7 stating that Whitaker was seen by Justice Department officials as a partisan and a White House spy.
Schumer urged the inspector general to investigate whether Whitaker may have shared with the president or senior White House advisers confidential grand jury or investigative information from Mueller’s team.
“Unauthorized disclosure of such information—and especially to a target or subject in the investigation—may implicate criminal contempt of court, obstruction of justice, or the Department of Justice’s long-standing policy regarding contacts with the White House related to criminal investigations or cases,” Schumer wrote.
The Vox report, written by veteran journalist Murray Waas, revealed that Whitaker, while he was serving as chief of staff to Sessions, was counseling the White House on how the president might pressure Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to direct the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s enemies.
Trump in May asked the department to open a criminal probe into whether the FBI “infiltrated” his 2016 presidential campaign.
Schumer has asked the inspector general to find out what communications Whitaker had with the White House as Sessions’s chief of staff and what issues were discussed.
He also wants to know whether Whitaker provided any assurances to Trump or senior White House officials about what steps he might take to interfere or obstruct Mueller’s investigation.