Bloomberg Law
December 4, 2018, 12:22 AM UTC

Trump Administration Defends Whitaker Appointment as Lawful

Andrew Harris
Andrew Harris
Bloomberg News

President Donald Trump’s elevation of Matthew Whitaker to acting U.S. Attorney General was completely lawful and Maryland’s request to void the selection should be rejected, Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge.

The state is asking the court “to take the extraordinary step of unseating the presidentially designated Acting Attorney General,” lawyers for the U.S. said on Monday. Their court filing came in response to a bid by Maryland’s attorney general, Democrat Brian Frosh, to effectively disqualify Whitaker because the president failed to follow the right law in filling the vacancy created by Jeff Sessions’s forced resignation last month.

Trump ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn About Bloomberg Law

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.