Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was appointed after President Donald Trump fired Jeff Sessions last week. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Nov 12, 2018
Maryland on Tuesday mounted the first court challenge to President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after he fired Jeff Sessions last week.
The state, according to the New York Times, is requesting an injunction to prevent Whitaker from acting as attorney general, arguing that under federal law, the position should instead belong to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of alleged election meddling and obstruction of justice since Sessions recused himself.
Trump's appointment of Whitaker, an outspoken critic of the Mueller investigation, has been widely denounced as a ploy hamstring the probe.
The action comes as part of an ongoing case about the Affordable Care Act in which Sessions is named as a defendant. As Sessions is no longer the nation's top law enforcement official, Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland must decided who is the legal successor in the case.
While the Trump administration has claimed that Whitaker meets all requirements under the Federal Vacancies Act of 1998, Maryland, as the Times reports, argues that under the Attorney General Succession Act and the appointments clause of the Constitution--which states that "principal officers" of the federal government must be appointed "with the advice and consent of the Senate"--Sessions' successor must be Rosenstein until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.
The significant authority of attorney general, the filing reportedly declares, "calls for the highest levels of integrity and personal judgment, prerequisites safeguarded by the Constitution's command that principal officers be subject to the oversight and check provided by Senate confirmation." The president, it states, may not "bypass the constitutional and statutory requirements for appointing someone to that office."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Maryland on Tuesday mounted the first court challenge to President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after he fired Jeff Sessions last week.
The state, according to the New York Times, is requesting an injunction to prevent Whitaker from acting as attorney general, arguing that under federal law, the position should instead belong to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of alleged election meddling and obstruction of justice since Sessions recused himself.
Trump's appointment of Whitaker, an outspoken critic of the Mueller investigation, has been widely denounced as a ploy hamstring the probe.
The action comes as part of an ongoing case about the Affordable Care Act in which Sessions is named as a defendant. As Sessions is no longer the nation's top law enforcement official, Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland must decided who is the legal successor in the case.
While the Trump administration has claimed that Whitaker meets all requirements under the Federal Vacancies Act of 1998, Maryland, as the Times reports, argues that under the Attorney General Succession Act and the appointments clause of the Constitution--which states that "principal officers" of the federal government must be appointed "with the advice and consent of the Senate"--Sessions' successor must be Rosenstein until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.
The significant authority of attorney general, the filing reportedly declares, "calls for the highest levels of integrity and personal judgment, prerequisites safeguarded by the Constitution's command that principal officers be subject to the oversight and check provided by Senate confirmation." The president, it states, may not "bypass the constitutional and statutory requirements for appointing someone to that office."
Maryland on Tuesday mounted the first court challenge to President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after he fired Jeff Sessions last week.
The state, according to the New York Times, is requesting an injunction to prevent Whitaker from acting as attorney general, arguing that under federal law, the position should instead belong to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of alleged election meddling and obstruction of justice since Sessions recused himself.
Trump's appointment of Whitaker, an outspoken critic of the Mueller investigation, has been widely denounced as a ploy hamstring the probe.
The action comes as part of an ongoing case about the Affordable Care Act in which Sessions is named as a defendant. As Sessions is no longer the nation's top law enforcement official, Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland must decided who is the legal successor in the case.
While the Trump administration has claimed that Whitaker meets all requirements under the Federal Vacancies Act of 1998, Maryland, as the Times reports, argues that under the Attorney General Succession Act and the appointments clause of the Constitution--which states that "principal officers" of the federal government must be appointed "with the advice and consent of the Senate"--Sessions' successor must be Rosenstein until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.
The significant authority of attorney general, the filing reportedly declares, "calls for the highest levels of integrity and personal judgment, prerequisites safeguarded by the Constitution's command that principal officers be subject to the oversight and check provided by Senate confirmation." The president, it states, may not "bypass the constitutional and statutory requirements for appointing someone to that office."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.