Former Federal Prosecutor Renato Mariotti explained he might know the reason acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker pulled out of the Congressional hearing set for Friday.
In a long Twitter thread, Mariotti said that House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) gave Whitaker the questions he would be asked ahead of time. The goal being to explain none of the questions would apply to the executive privilege rules.
"Nadler did so because during the past two years when the GOP controlled Congress, Trump Administration officials would routinely refuse to answer questions without invoking executive privilege," Mariotti said. "They did so knowing that Congressional Republicans wouldn't compel their testimony."
The former prosecutor explained that it isn't "proper" to refuse due to executive privilege unless the president has formally proclaimed it.
Nadler gave the question in advance to give Trump time to actually invoke the privilege. Whitaker couldn't walk into the hearing and say he was surprised by the questions and couldn't answer because the president needs time.
"Similarly, Nadler prepared to subpoena Whitaker in case Whitaker refused to answer any of the questions," Mariotti continued. "A voluntary witness (as Whitaker was) can refuse to answer questions, but a witness appearing pursuant to a subpoena is required to testify. If Whitaker was subpoenaed and refused to answer questions at that point, Congress could refer him to the [Justice Department] for Contempt of Congress."
He noted it's a potential criminal charge, which would raise conflicts of interest issues because Whitaker oversees the department.
"Obviously, Whitaker wants to avoid answering certain questions, which will be hard for him to do if Nadler subpoenas him," he said. Why, then, is Whitaker pulling back from his voluntary testimony? To run out the clock. If Whitaker doesn't appear tomorrow, Nadler can subpoena him, but that will give DOJ time to fight to limit the scope of the questioning and/or allow Trump to invoke executive privilege."
Meanwhile, nominee Bill Barr will probably be confirmed as the new Attorney General.
"While DOJ claims that Whitaker made no promises to Trump about undermining the Mueller investigation, there were published reports that Trump asked Whitaker to control the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York," he explained. "House Democrats and the public deserve to know if Trump is corruptly trying to quash or undermine the investigation of him, his company, and his friends. But DOJ will argue that some of those conversations were protected by executive privilege."
Mariotti then explained that if Mueller or the Southern District of New York want to know what Trump has told Whitaker, those conversations aren't going to be privileged.
Read his full thread beginning below:
