Underwood calls for Acting Attorney General Whitaker to recuse self from Special Counsel’s Investigation

“It’s vital that the Special Counsel’s investigation move forward free from any appearance of interference or bias. As such, Acting Attorney General Whitaker has a clear responsibility to recuse himself from any role in the investigation – in order to ensure that the public can trust the integrity of the investigation and to protect DOJ’s fundamental independence,” said Attorney General Underwood.


The letter, sent directly to Whitaker at the U.S. Department of Justice, states that his recusal is “necessary to maintain public trust in the integrity of the investigation and to protect the essential and longstanding independence of the Department you have been chosen to lead, on an acting basis.”
The Attorneys General cite federal ethics regulations that require federal government employees to recuse themselves from participation in matters involving any “question in the mind of a reasonable person about his impartiality.”

The letter states that in print, on television, and through social media, Whitaker has suggested cutting the Special Counsel Mueller’s budget or limiting his authority to follow lines of inquiry. The Attorneys General also write that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should continue to supervise the Special Counsel’s investigation, which must proceed free from interference or supervision that would “appear to many Americans to be biased.”