The US Department of Justice on Thursday said that US Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker would testify before the US House Committee on the Judiciary yesterday as scheduled, ending a day’s worth of uncertainty over whether he would appear.
Whitaker’s appearance became questionable after the panel, led by Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, approved a tentative subpoena to ensure that Whitaker would appear and answer questions.
Whitaker responded by saying that he would not appear unless the committee dropped its subpoena threat, which he derided as an act of “political theater.”
After conversations with the committee, Nadler agreed that the committee would not issue a subpoena if Whitaker voluntarily appeared at the hearing, department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said.
“In light of that commitment, Acting Attorney General Whitaker looks forward to voluntarily appearing at tomorrow’s hearing and discussing the great work of the Department of Justice,” Kupec said.
Nadler did not detail his discussions with the department, but tweeted on Thursday evening: “CONFIRMED: Acting Attorney General Whitaker will appear tomorrow morning at 9:30am.”
Whitaker’s testimony has been highly anticipated by Democrats eager to press him on his interactions with US President Donald Trump and his oversight of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Whitaker oversees the Mueller probe.
Thursday’s committee vote did not issue a subpoena, but allowed Nadler to do so if Whitaker was uncooperative.
Nadler said he hoped not to have to use the subpoena, but “a series of troubling events over the past few months suggest that we should be prepared.”
Nadler said that as late as last week the committee had received reports that some at the department were counseling Whitaker not to appear.
Whitaker on Thursday said that was not the case, saying he had “devoted considerable resources and numerous hours to my preparation” and was looking forward to the hearing.
He criticized the committee for prematurely and unnecessarily authorizing a subpoena for him even though he had agreed to appear.
Republicans on the committee also strongly opposed Nadler’s resolution to approve a subpoena if necessary.
They said it was not necessary because Whitaker was already appearing voluntarily.
Democrats are calling Whitaker to testify even though his time leading the department is soon ending, with the US Senate expected this month to confirm Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr.
The US Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday voted along party lines to approve Barr’s nomination, sending the pick to the full US Senate.
One of Nadler’s main concerns has been that Whitaker would assert executive privilege to avoid answering questions at the hearing.
He said that previous Trump administration officials, including former US attorney general Jeff Sessions, declined to answer questions about conversations with the White House during testimony, saying the president might want to claim executive privilege on those conversations in the future.
That is “ridiculous” and administration officials must provide the committee with answers or a better excuse to withhold them, Nadler said.
“Without the threat of a subpoena, I believe it may be difficult to hold Mr Whitaker to this standard,” Nadler said.
In a letter to Nadler after the vote, US Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd laid out a lengthy legal argument for asserting such executive privilege, saying administration officials from both parties have declined to answer questions about conversations they have had with the president.
“Rather than conducting appropriate oversight into the department’s programs and activities, the committee evidently seeks to ask questions about confidential presidential communications that no attorney general could ever be expected to disclose under the circumstances,” Boyd wrote.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of