ATTORNEY GENERAL/ETHICS/JEFF SESSIONS/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is consulting with ethics officials regarding possible recusal from overseeing the special counsel’s Russia investigation, the Justice Department said on Monday [11-12-18]…Whitaker has been overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation since last Wednesday, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation triggered a set of events that left Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff, in charge of the inquiry instead of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Democrats have sharply criticized Whitaker over his numerous past statements questioning Mueller’s investigation, including suggestions that a possible Sessions replacement could slash the special counsel’s budget so low that any further efforts would cease. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway stressed on ‘Fox News Sunday’ that Whitaker had made the comments as ‘a private citizen’ before joining the administration and when the investigation was just beginning.”
–Brent D. Griffiths and Quint Forgey, “Whitaker consulting ‘ethics officials’ on possible recusal from Mueller probe,” Politico, November 12, 2018 9:32 pm