Darth Omar
Russian asset
Now we move to the final stage of "prestige" when the magic occurs. The best legal argument in defense of Mueller's position was that he reported to Rosenstein, who is a confirmed official. Now that he reports to Whitaker, you have an unconfirmed individual exercising powers like a United States attorney and being overseen by an unconfirmed acting attorney general.
In other words, by appointing Whitaker, Trump has undermined the position of his own Justice Department in court in the Andrew Miller case without directly firing Mueller. If Whitaker is left in place, and Trump has said there is "no rush" to fill the post permanently, the court could conclude that Mueller is now exercising powers reserved to confirmed "principal officers." He could be barred from exercising those powers until an attorney general is nominated and confirmed.
Making this situation all the more intriguing would be if Trump then appoints someone who Democrats would likely oppose, such as former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.). Yet, if Democrats rejected such a nominee, they - not any direct action by Trump - would be the reason for keeping Mueller's investigation enjoined. And that would be the ultimate "prestige" to this trick.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judicia...eller-disappear?amp&__twitter_impression=true
_________________
Jonathan Turley is a legal scholar from George Washington University.
And I had to read and re-read his piece before I could get a handle on it. If I’m understanding him right, Trump might have thrown Mullet a curveball in not elevating Rosenstein to AG. By appointing Whitaker, you have a non-confirmed ‘principle officer’ overseeing a non-confirmed prosecutor in Mullet.
The problem is, Mullet derives his authority from working under a confirmed ‘principle officer’, which was formerly Rosenstein. But by appointing Whitaker, Mullet is no longer working under a confirmed principle officer—and he won’t be until one is confirmed by the Senate.
This could get interesting.
In other words, by appointing Whitaker, Trump has undermined the position of his own Justice Department in court in the Andrew Miller case without directly firing Mueller. If Whitaker is left in place, and Trump has said there is "no rush" to fill the post permanently, the court could conclude that Mueller is now exercising powers reserved to confirmed "principal officers." He could be barred from exercising those powers until an attorney general is nominated and confirmed.
Making this situation all the more intriguing would be if Trump then appoints someone who Democrats would likely oppose, such as former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.). Yet, if Democrats rejected such a nominee, they - not any direct action by Trump - would be the reason for keeping Mueller's investigation enjoined. And that would be the ultimate "prestige" to this trick.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judicia...eller-disappear?amp&__twitter_impression=true
_________________
Jonathan Turley is a legal scholar from George Washington University.
And I had to read and re-read his piece before I could get a handle on it. If I’m understanding him right, Trump might have thrown Mullet a curveball in not elevating Rosenstein to AG. By appointing Whitaker, you have a non-confirmed ‘principle officer’ overseeing a non-confirmed prosecutor in Mullet.
The problem is, Mullet derives his authority from working under a confirmed ‘principle officer’, which was formerly Rosenstein. But by appointing Whitaker, Mullet is no longer working under a confirmed principle officer—and he won’t be until one is confirmed by the Senate.
This could get interesting.