Matthew Whitaker
Matthew George Whitaker (born October 29, 1969) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and politician who served as the acting United States Attorney General from November 7, 2018, to February 14, 2019. He was appointed to that position by President Donald Trump after Jeff Sessions resigned at Trump's request.[1] Whitaker had previously served as Chief of Staff to Sessions from October 2017 to November 2018.[2]
Matthew Whitaker | |
---|---|
United States Attorney General | |
Acting | |
In office November 7, 2018 – February 14, 2019 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | Rod Rosenstein |
Preceded by | Jeff Sessions |
Succeeded by | William Barr |
Senior Counselor to the United States Associate Attorney General | |
In office February 15, 2019 – March 2, 2019 | |
Leader | Jesse Panuccio |
Attorney General | William Barr |
Preceded by | vacant |
Chief of Staff to the United States Attorney General | |
In office September 22, 2017 – November 7, 2018 | |
Attorney General | Jeff Sessions |
Preceded by | Jody Hunt |
Succeeded by | Gary Barnett |
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa | |
In office June 15, 2004 – November 25, 2009 | |
President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Stephen Patrick O'Meara |
Succeeded by | Nicholas A. Klinefeldt |
Personal details | |
Born | Matthew George Whitaker October 29, 1969 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | University of Iowa (BA, JD, MBA) |
While attending the University of Iowa,[3] Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, under coach Hayden Fry,[4] appearing in the starting lineup for Iowa's Rose Bowl game in 1991.[5][6] In 2002, Whitaker was the candidate of the Republican Party for Treasurer of Iowa. From 2004 to 2009, he served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, where he was known for aggressively prosecuting drug traffickers.[4] Whitaker ran in the 2014 Iowa Republican primary for the United States Senate. He later wrote opinion pieces and appeared on talk-radio shows and cable news as the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative advocacy group.
On December 7, 2018, Trump announced his nomination of William Barr for Attorney General.[7] On February 15, 2019, after Barr was sworn in on the previous day, Whitaker became a senior counselor in the Office of the Associate Attorney General, serving in that position until his resignation on March 2, 2019.[8][9]
The legality of Whitaker's appointment as acting U.S. Attorney General was challenged in multiple lawsuits,[10] and questioned by legal scholars, commentators, and politicians.[11] Whitaker's service ended with the confirmation and swearing in of William Barr, on February 14, 2019. Following his return to private life, Whitaker became a guest on news and analysis shows, and was affiliated with the law firm of Graves Garrett. In August 2019, he also became Managing Director for both Axiom Strategies and Clout Public Affairs.[12]
Early life, education, and college football career
Matthew George Whitaker was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 29, 1969. He graduated from Ankeny High School, where "his football achievements resulted in his induction in the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame".[13] He attended the University of Iowa, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1991, and received a Master of Business Administration, and a J.D. degree in 1995.[14][3]
As an undergraduate, between 1990 and 1992, Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team under coach Hayden Fry.[4] He appeared in the starting lineup for Iowa's 1991 Rose Bowl.[5][6] Over the course of his collegiate football career, Whitaker played in 33 games, including bowl games, and made 21 receptions for a total of 203 yards, scoring two touchdowns.[15] One of his touchdowns was scored as part of a winning effort against archrival Iowa State University.[6] While playing for Iowa, he indicated that although he loved the sport, he had no expectations of making football his career; rather, he was employing it as a means to get an education.[6] Whitaker graduated from college in three and a half years, and played his last season of football while attending law school.[6][13]
Whitaker was the 1992 GTE District VII Academic All-District selection,[16] although he was referred to at the time in the yearly Iowa football media book as an Academic All-American; a December 2018 investigation by the Wall Street Journal quoted a spokeswoman for College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) who said CoSIDA was less formally organized in the 1990s and "We know that people over time use terms interchangeably and innocently".[16]
Career
After graduating from law school, Whitaker worked for a number of regional law firms including Briggs & Morgan (Minneapolis) and Finley Alt Smith (Des Moines). He was also corporate counsel for a national grocery company, SuperValu, and small businessman owning interests in a trailer manufacturing company, a daycare, and a concrete supply company.[17] Whitaker ran as a Republican for Treasurer of Iowa in 2002, losing to incumbent Democrat Michael Fitzgerald by 55% to 43%.[18]
In 2003, Whitaker and a partner co-founded Buy the Yard Concrete, based in Urbandale, Iowa, which did projects as far away as Las Vegas. In 2005, Whitaker was named as one of the defendants to a collections lawsuit in Nevada for $12,000 in unpaid invoices for supplies and equipment rentals related to a concrete project in Las Vegas. The lawsuit was settled out of court.[19] Whitaker lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1995 to 2001, and in 2001 made "a conscious choice to come back and make a difference in Iowa".[4]
United States Attorney
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley recommended Whitaker as one of three attorneys suggested to President George W. Bush for the position of United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.[4] In February 2004, Bush nominated Whitaker to the position,[4] despite assertions that Whitaker lacked relevant legal experience.[20] Senate Democrats objecting to Bush nominees held up the nomination for four months before Whitaker was confirmed on June 15, 2004.[4]
In his first year in office, Whitaker issued a record 500 indictments, more than half of which were drug prosecutions, mainly related to trafficking of methamphetamine.[4] In July 2005, Whitaker joined neighboring U.S. Attorneys Michael Heavican and Charles Larson Sr. in issuing a warning that persons crossing state lines to obtain pseudoephedrine, a methamphetamine ingredient, could be prosecuted in federal court.[21] As U.S. Attorney, Whitaker sought stringent sentences for individuals charged with drug crimes. One case involved a non-violent drug offender who had previously been convicted of several drug-related crimes, and who was given the option by Whitaker's office, consistent with DOJ policy promulgated by Attorney General John Ashcroft,[22] of being prosecuted with the chance of spending the rest of her life in jail or accept a plea deal of 21 to 27 years in prison. Federal Judge Robert W. Pratt later said the prosecutors in the case had "misused" their authority and urged President Obama (who had then become president) to grant clemency; Obama commuted her sentence, after she had served 11 years in prison.[23]
Whitaker also served on the regional anti-terrorism task force, which examined both international and domestic threats,[4] and focused on prosecuting child pornography and violent crimes against children.[4] From 2005 to 2007, Whitaker's office, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigated and unsuccessfully prosecuted Iowa State Sen. Matt McCoy on charges of attempting to extort $2,000 in envelopes of cash.[24] A columnist for The Des Moines Register said that the case "... was based on the word of a man former associates depicted as a drug user, a deadbeat and an abuser of women; a man so shady even his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsors called him 'a pathological liar.'"[25][26] The jury reached a verdict of "not guilty" within two hours.[27][28] In 2007, Whitaker also led the investigation of four executives of the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium (CIETC), a Des Moines-based job training agency, who were accused of collectively stealing more than two million dollars from the agency over a three-year period.[29] The alleged ringleader, CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham, plead guilty on June 30, 2008.[30]
Whitaker resigned in November 2009 following the Senate confirmation of his replacement, Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, who was nominated by President Obama.[5][31]
Private practice and business and political activities
From 2009 to 2017, Whitaker was a managing partner of the small general practice law firm Whitaker Hagenow & Gustoff LLP (later Hagenow & Gustoff LLP) in Des Moines, Iowa.[32] In 2011 Whitaker co-founded Whitaker Strategy Group, an Iowan lobbying and consulting firm that promoted business and job growth in Iowa.[33] In one case, Whitaker served as one of 24 attorneys representing twelve different law firms in defending ready-mix concrete manufacturers against class-action antitrust litigation. After the parties came to a swift and effective settlement of the case, Judge Mark W. Bennett of the Northern District of Iowa noted that "these settlements would not have been remotely possible without the highly experienced, skilled, and extraordinarily professional defense counsel in this case". The judge therefore took "the unusual step of listing them", including Whitaker, in the body of his opinion on attorney's fees.[34]
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Whitaker was Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty's co-chairman in Iowa, and then state co-chairman for Texas governor Rick Perry.[35] Also in 2012, Whitaker and two partners invested in several successful real estate ventures together. They also invested, under a venture named MEM Investment, in the purchase and development of an affordable-housing apartment building in Des Moines.[36] In 2014, Whitaker's partners left this partnership, and by spring of 2016, the company was unable to complete the renovations on time, and the city terminated the loan agreement. The building was then sold and completed by another contractor.[37][38]
Whitaker was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2014 United States Senate election in Iowa, a seat being vacated by Democrat Tom Harkin. He came in fourth in the Republican primary, with 11,909 votes (7.54%). The nomination was won by Joni Ernst, who went on to win the general election.[39]
After losing the Republican primary, Whitaker chaired the campaign of Sam Clovis, another unsuccessful primary candidate who had been selected to run for Iowa State Treasurer.[40] Clovis lost in the November 2014 general election.[41][42][43]
World Patent Marketing
In 2014, Whitaker was added to the non-fiduciary board of advisors of World Patent Marketing (WPM), a Florida-based company billed as an invention promotion firm. The board of advisors never met during Whitaker's service.[44] In a 2014 statement Whitaker publicly vouched for WPM, claiming they went "beyond making statements about doing business 'ethically' and translate[d] those words into action".[45] However, the company was later determined to have deceived inventors into thinking that it had successfully commercialized other inventions.[46][47] In 2017, World Patent Marketing was fined $26 million and shut down by the Federal Trade Commission for deceiving consumers.[45][48] A spokesperson for Whitaker said that he was never aware of the company's fraud,[45] The court receiver in the case, attorney Jonathan Perlman, said he had "no reason to believe that [Whitaker] knew of any of the wrongdoing".[49]
The company contributed to Whitaker's 2014 U.S. Senate campaign,[50] but over the three-year period from 2014 and 2017 paid Whitaker less than $17,000 for work performed.[51] Customers who suffered losses as a result of working with the company claimed that the company used Whitaker's background as a U.S. Attorney to threaten them.[45][52] In one 2015 email mentioning his background as a former federal prosecutor, Whitaker told a customer that filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or "smearing" the company online could result in "serious civil and criminal consequences".[53][54] In an unverified report, the owner of Ripoff Report told The Wall Street Journal that Whitaker had called him in 2015 demanding his website take down negative reports about WPM, alleging, "He threatened to ruin my business if I didn't remove the reports. He [said he] would have the government shut me down under some homeland security law".[55][56] Whitaker has stood by his account that he has never spoken to this person and the conversation never occurred. In 2017, FTC investigators examined whether Whitaker had played any role in making threats of legal action to silence the company's critics. Whitaker rebuffed an FTC subpoena for records in October 2017, shortly after he had joined the Department of Justice.[49] After Whitaker's appointment in the Department of Justice in September 2017, White House and senior Justice Department officials were reportedly surprised to learn of Whitaker's connection to the company.[49] Through a DOJ spokesperson, Whitaker denied awareness of the fraud alleged.[45]
Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
From October 2014 to September 2017, Whitaker was the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT);[57] he was the organization's only full-time employee in 2015 and 2016.[58] FACT, founded in late 2014, is a conservative nonprofit organization specializing in legal and ethical issues related to politics.[59][60] The group was backed by $1 million in seed money from conservative donors, whom Whitaker declined to identify to the media.[61] According to the organization's first tax return, its funding — $600,000 in 2014 — came from a conservative donor-advised fund called Donors Trust, a pass-through vehicle that allows donors to remain anonymous.[62] From its creation in 2014 through 2018, FACT reported contributions of $3.5 million on its tax filings; as a 501(c)(3) organization, it did not disclose its donors. The group's largest single expense was Whitaker's salary; Whitaker collected $1.2 million from the group over four years, making it the overwhelming source of his income from 2016 onward.[63]
While Whitaker was the head of FACT, the organization had a special focus on the Hillary Clinton email controversy and perceived favoritism in the business dealings of Clinton.[64] Despite claiming to be nonpartisan, the organization called for ethics investigations into or filed complaints for more than 40 different Democratic politicians, officials, and organizations, compared to only a few Republicans.[65] FACT was characterized by CNN reporter Drew Griffin as using "the legal system as a political weapon",[66] and it was reported that an unnamed source described as a "GOP operative" had characterized the organization as a "chop shop of fake ethics complaints".[67] During his time at FACT, Whitaker wrote opinion pieces that appeared in USA Today and the Washington Examiner, and he appeared regularly on conservative talk-radio shows and cable news.[68]
CNN contributor
For four months, from June to September 2017, Whitaker was a CNN contributor.[69] One month prior to joining the Justice Department, he wrote an opinion column for CNN titled "Mueller's Investigation of Trump is Going Too Far".[70] He retweeted a link to an article that stated that Mueller's investigation was a "lynch mob", that it should be limited, and that it should not probe into Trump's finances.[71][72]
Department of Justice Chief of Staff
On September 22, 2017, a Justice Department official announced that Sessions was appointing Whitaker to replace Jody Hunt as his chief of staff.[71][73] George J. Terwilliger III, a former U.S. attorney and deputy attorney general, said in his role as chief of staff, Whitaker would have dealt daily with making "substantive choices about what is important to bring to the AG".[74]
Acting Attorney General
With the resignation of Sessions on November 7, 2018, Whitaker was appointed to serve as Acting Attorney General under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.[3][75] In that position, he directly supervised Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation, which had previously been supervised by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in his role as Acting Attorney General, due to the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. President Trump said of the appointment, "Matt Whitaker is a highly respected person ... you know, once I choose somebody they always go through hell".[76]
In January 2019, Whitaker along with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray announced 23 criminal charges against Chinese technology giant Huawei and its CFO Meng Wanzhou, including financial fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of trade secret technology, providing bonuses to workers who stole confidential information from companies around the world, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and sanctions violations.[77][78][79][80] In late 2018, he rejected a request from U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman to file criminal charges against Halkbank, the largest state-owned bank in Turkey, for an alleged multi-billion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran.[81] On December 18, 2018, Whitaker signed the regulation that reclassified bump stocks as machine guns, rendering them illegal to possess under federal law.[82][83] Whitaker participated in the work of the Federal Commission on School Safety, committing the Department of Justice "to support first responders and provide training for law enforcement officers and school personnel".[84] He also initiated implementation of the First Step Act,[85] and oversaw successful efforts towards the reduction of drug overdose deaths between 2017 and 2018.
Supervision of the Special Counsel investigation
Assistant attorney general and spokesperson Stephen Boyd explained in a letter[86] to the leaders of the Senate that, if a recommendation was sought by DOJ ethics officials, they would advise recusal but that it was a close call and that credible arguments could be made either way. Boyd also stated that Whitaker made the determination not to recuse himself because among other reasons, there was no actual conflict, there were no examples of where any previous Attorney General acting or otherwise had recused himself or herself with respect to an appearance of impartiality analysis based upon prior public statements. The prior Department ethics analysis described by the ethics official as most relevant to this analysis concluded that no recusal was necessary by a senior Department official.[87]
Democrats poised to assume chairmanships of key House committees in January 2019 warned the Justice Department and other departments to preserve records relating to the Mueller investigation and Sessions' firing. Republicans Senator Susan Collins, Senator Jeff Flake, and Senator-elect Mitt Romney, also issued statements insisting that Mueller's investigation must remain free from interference.[88] In February 2019, Whitaker testified before Congress that he had not interfered in any way in the special counsel investigation,[89] and in July 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller confirmed in his own testimony before Congress that there was no interference with the investigation.[90]
Legality and constitutionality of the appointment
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel found that the appointment was constitutional due to its temporary nature.[91] The OLC noted that an assistant attorney general who was not confirmed by the Senate had been appointed as acting Attorney General in 1866, and that other individuals not confirmed by the Senate had served as principal officers in an acting capacity more than 160 times between 1809 and 1860, and at least nine times during the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations.[92]
A number of prominent legal experts, scholars, and former prosecutors and Department of Justice officials offered varying opinions over the legality and constitutionality of Whitaker's appointment.[93] Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at University of Texas, argued that the appointment was permissible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Eaton, because it was temporary and because Sessions formally resigned.[94] Lawyers Neal Katyal and George T. Conway III argued in a New York Times op-ed that the appointment was unconstitutional under the Appointments Clause, as the position of Attorney General is a "principal" one requiring Senate confirmation.[95][96] Law professor John Yoo from Berkeley, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel in the George W. Bush administration, argued that the Appointments Clause renders the Federal Vacancies Reform Act unconstitutional and that Whitaker's appointment was in violation of that clause.[97] John E. Bies, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Obama Administration, wrote that the legality and constitutionality of Whitaker's appointment was an open question. Bies also pointed out that it was a difficult argument to make that Sessions was fired instead of resigning since a court would probably not "look past an official's formal statement that they resigned".[98]
Legal challenges
There were at least nine unsuccessful legal challenges to Whitaker's appointment.[99] Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, representing the State of Maryland, filed for an injunction against Whitaker's appointment.[100] Maryland had previously filed a suit against then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding his inability to defend the Affordable Care Act in court as part of a broader hostility against the Obama-era law from the Trump administration.[101][102][103] Maryland was expected to test the argument in court that Whitaker was unlawfully named acting Attorney General, and thus had no standing in the court or authority to respond to their lawsuit.[104][105] Maryland argued that Whitaker's appointment violated the Constitution, which requires that principal officers of the United States be appointed "with the Advice and Consent of the Senate". Because Whitaker was not serving in a Senate-confirmed position when he was appointed,[104] the state argued that the role of acting Attorney General rightfully belonged to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.[106] Presiding judge Ellen Lipton Hollander set a hearing for December 19, 2018,[107] and dismissed the case on February 1, 2019.[108] Other cases holding that Whitaker had been properly appointed to the position included United States v. Valencia in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas,[109] and United States v. Penn in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, based on the "thoughtful and well-reasoned" decision in Valencia.[110]
Three Democratic senators — Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Mazie Hirono — filed suit on November 18, 2018, in the D.C. Circuit Court, saying the President violated the Constitution and denied the Senate its right to approve the nomination.[111] Lawyers for Doug Haning, a former agricultural products executive, filed a motion on November 13, 2018, asking a federal court in St. Louis to rule that Whitaker's appointment as acting Attorney General was illegal and thus he had no standing to hear the case.[107] South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman predicted a flood of similar motions.[107] Attorney Tom Goldstein filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 16, 2018 on behalf of a Nevada resident, asking the court to decide whether Rod Rosenstein was the statutory and constitutional successor to Sessions in a pending lawsuit, rather than Whitaker.[112][113] The U.S. Supreme Court denied the motion on January 14, 2019.[114]
Legal and policy views
Constitutional issues
Whitaker stated in a question-and-answer session during his 2014 Iowa Senatorial campaign that "the courts are supposed to be the inferior branch".[115][116] Whitaker was critical of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the decision that allows judicial review of the constitutionality of the acts of the other branches of government, and several other Supreme Court holdings. When Whitaker later became acting Attorney General four years later, Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe commented on Whitaker's views that "the overall picture he presents would have virtually no scholarly support", and that they would be "'destabilizing' to society if he used the power of the attorney general to advance them".[115]
Whitaker also stated during his 2014 Senate bid that he would not support "secular" judges and that judges should "have a biblical view of justice". Asked if he meant Levitical or New Testament justice, he replied "I'm a New Testament".[117] Although Whitaker never specifically commented on the ability of non-Christian judges to serve, Whitaker's answer was subsequently interpreted by various individuals and groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, to imply that he would disqualify non-Christian judges, and were condemned as unconstitutional. An ADL spokesperson said, "The notion that non-Christian judges are disqualified from service is patently wrong, and completely inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, which explicitly bars any religious test for public office".[118]
Whitaker stated in 2013 he supports the right of states to nullify federal laws.[119] Stephen Vladeck of University of Texas stated that Whitaker's views on nullification are "irreconcilable not only with the structure of the Constitution, but with its text, especially the text of the Supremacy Clause", and added that "For someone who holds those views to be the nation's chief law enforcement officer, even temporarily, is more than a little terrifying".[119]
Criticisms of 2017 Special Counsel investigation
During the months prior to joining the Justice Department as Jeff Sessions' chief of staff in September 2017, Whitaker made several statements critical of the Mueller investigation, of which he assumed oversight responsibility upon being appointed Acting Attorney General in November 2018. By July 2017, the Trump White House was interviewing Whitaker to join the Trump legal team.[120] During a six-month span in 2017, Whitaker insisted that there was no obstruction of justice or collusion and criticized the initial appointment of the special counsel. He also called the probe "political"[121] and "the left is trying to sow this theory that essentially Russians interfered with the U.S. election, which has been proven false".[122] He also published an op-ed titled, "Mueller's Investigation of Trump Is Going Too Far"[123] in which he expressed skepticism about the investigation generally and called the appointment of Mueller "ridiculous".[122] He also retweeted a link to an article that referred to the investigation as a "lynch mob".[71][123][124]
Relationship with Donald Trump
Trump saw Whitaker's supportive commentaries on CNN in the summer of 2017, and in July White House counsel Don McGahn interviewed Whitaker to join Trump's legal team as an "attack dog" against Robert Mueller, who was heading the Special Counsel investigation. Trump associates believe Whitaker was later hired to limit the fallout of the investigation, including by reining in any Mueller report and preventing Trump from being subpoenaed.[120] On November 13, a DOJ spokesperson said that Whitaker would seek advice from ethics officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) about whether a recusal from overseeing the Russia investigation was warranted.[125]
In 2017, Vox writer Murray Waas, reported that an unnamed administration source claimed that Whitaker provided private advice to Trump on how the White House might pressure the Justice Department "to name a special counsel to investigate not only allegations of FBI wrongdoing but also Hillary Clinton".[126] Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society recommended Whitaker to McGahn as chief of staff for Sessions, and Whitaker was installed into that role at the direction of the White House. An anonymous source claimed that Whitaker wanted to replace Sessions, without the latter's knowledge.[127] By early September 2018, Whitaker was on the short list of President Trump's White House staff as the replacement for Don McGahn as the White House Counsel.[128][129] In September 2018, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly referred to Whitaker as the White House's "eyes and ears" in the Justice Department, which the president considered himself at war with.[130]
Trump had spoken with Whitaker in September 2018 about potentially assuming Sessions's role as Attorney General, although it was not clear whether Whitaker would take over on an interim basis or be nominated in a more permanent capacity.[131] At that time, The New York Times described Whitaker as a Trump loyalist who had frequently visited the Oval Office and as having "an easy chemistry" with Trump.[130] Whitaker was referenced by White House staff after a New York Times article disclosed in September that Rod Rosenstein had discussed secretly taping his conversations with the president and talked about using the Twenty-fifth Amendment to remove Trump from office.[123] Trump repeatedly stated on November 9, "I don't know Matt Whitaker", contradicting remarks a month prior on Fox & Friends when he said, "I can tell you Matt Whitaker's a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker".[132][133][134]
In October 2019, after leaving the White House, Whitaker defended Trump amid the impeachment investigation into his conduct as president. Whitaker said there was no evidence of a crime by the President, and that "abuse of power is not a crime" in the Constitution.[135]
Other policy issues
Whitaker's website previously stated that he was a "Christian who regularly attends church with his family, Matt has built a life on hard work and free enterprise"; and he stated in 2014 that "life begins at conception".[25][115][136] In 2014, he advocated for reducing the influence of the government saying, "I know that the government forcing people to violate their faith must never be tolerated. In the Senate, I will be a steadfast protector of every American's religious rights".[137] Whitaker claimed he was not a "climate change denier" but said that the evidence is "inconclusive" and indicated he did not support regulations on carbon emissions.[115]
He has expressed a desire to get rid of family reunification and is against amnesty for illegal immigrants.[115] Whitaker argued in 2014 that a blogger fired from his job for describing homosexuality as "sinful" had engaged in a legitimate expression of religious beliefs that should be considered protected speech, saying, "I just really think this case is a prime example of where religious freedom in our country is under assault and we need to send a strong message".[138] Whitaker supported repealing the Affordable Care Act in his 2014 Senate campaign.[123]
Electoral history
2002 Iowa State Treasurer
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Fitzgerald | 534,714 | 54.77% | |
Republican | Matthew Whitaker | 421,574 | 43.18% | |
Libertarian | Tim Hird | 19,687 | 2.02% | |
Republican | Write-ins | 344 | 0.04% | |
Total votes | 976,319 | 100.00% |
2014 U.S. Senator for Iowa
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Joni Ernst | 88,535 | 56.12% | |
Republican | Sam Clovis | 28,418 | 18.01% | |
Republican | Mark Jacobs | 26,523 | 16.81% | |
Republican | Matthew Whitaker | 11,884 | 7.53% | |
Republican | Scott Schaben | 2,233 | 1.42% | |
Republican | Write-ins | 155 | 0.10% | |
Total votes | 157,748 | 100.00% |
Writings
- Above the Law: The Inside Story of How the Justice Department Tried to Subvert President Trump. Regnery Publishing. 2020. ISBN 978-1684510498.
References
- "Jeff Sessions forced out as attorney general". CBS News. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Samuelsohn, Darren; Oprysko, Caitlyn (November 7, 2018). "Sessions ousted". Politico. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Trump names Iowa native Matt Whitaker acting attorney general after Sessions resigns". The Des Moines Register. Associated Press. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Attorney Goes After Drug Traffickers", The Des Moines Register (March 28, 2005), p. 4B.
- "United States Attorney Announces Resignation". Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- "Ex-Iowa football player Matthew Whitaker is U.S. Acting Attorney General". The Gazette. November 7, 2018.
- Petroski, William (December 7, 2018). "Iowa's Matt Whitaker's future in limbo as Trump's picks William Barr for attorney general". Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- "Ex-acting AG Matthew Whitaker leaves Justice Department". March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- Wilber, Del Quentin (March 4, 2019). "Matthew Whitaker, former acting attorney general, leaves Justice Department". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- "After outcry over appointment, Trump's top law enforcer treading..." Reuters. December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- The legality of Matthew Whitaker's appointment as Acting Attorney General has been disputed by several constitutional scholars. John E. Bies at the Lawfare blog discusses the question. In The New York Times, constitutional scholars Neal Katyal and George T. Conway III assert it is unconstitutional, as does Mark Joseph Stern in Slate. Axios has a summary of the dispute, including a notable opinion from John Yoo who, despite previously endorsing expansive powers for the Presidency, regards the appointment as unconstitutional.
- Jacobs, Jennifer (August 1, 2019). "Trump's Former Acting Attorney General Lands Political Consulting Job". Bloomberg LLP.
- Petroski, William (September 27, 2018). "Matt Whitaker, Iowa attorney and ex-Hawkeye starter, seen as Trump favorite for key posts". Des Moines Register.
- {{cite web}url=https://www.ajc.com/news/who-matthew-whitaker-the-acting-attorney-general/flNEDKMf21XLKJ5M5O8bjM/ |title=Who is Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General?|first1=Bob|last1=D'Angelo|publisher=Atlanta-Journal Constitution|date=November 7, 2018}}
- "Matt Whitaker". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- "Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Incorrectly Claims Academic All-American Honors". The Wall Street Journal. 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- "Matthew Whitaker biography". United States Attorney's Office, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Archived from the original on November 19, 2004.
- "2002 State Treasurer General Election Results — Iowa". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. April 1, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Boburg, Sean (November 14, 2018). "Whitaker's unusual path to Justice Department included owning day-care center, trailer maker and concrete supplier". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Swaine, Jon (November 12, 2018). "Trump pick Whitaker rose through ranks as partisan targeting Democrats". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "U.S. Attorneys Warn Area Meth Dealers", Lincoln Journal Star (July 29, 2005). p. 2B.
- Schmidt, Susan (September 23, 2003). "Ashcroft Issues Tougher Prosecutorial Guidelines". The Washington Post.
- "As U.S. attorney, Whitaker imposed longer-than-usual drug sentences". Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- "I Was the Subject of a Political 'Witch Hunt.' Matt Whitaker Directed It". Politico Magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- Basu, Rekha (December 21, 2007). "Why did Matthew Whitaker prosecute this openly gay state lawmaker?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Kranish, Michael (November 9, 2018). "Whitaker's term as U.S. attorney in Iowa draws scrutiny". Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Leip, David (December 14, 2007). "State Sen. McCoy not guilty of extortion". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Griffin, Drew; Richards, Collette; DiCarlo, Patricia (November 10, 2018). "Whitaker's controversial prosecution of a gay Democrat". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Charlotte Eby, "Four Indicted in CIETC Scandal", Quad-City Times (Jan 17, 2007).
- Clark Kauffman, "CIETC Ex-Chief Reaches Plea Deal", The Des Moines Register (July 1, 2008), p. 4.
- "Iowa Southern District U.S. Attorney to Resign". MainJustice.com. November 6, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
- D'Angelo, Bob (November 7, 2018). "Who is Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Matt Whitaker and Ed Failor to lead new lobbying and consulting practice". Iowa Caucuses. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- In re Iowa Ready-Mix Concrete Antitrust Litig., No. C 10-4038-MWB at *6 (N.D. Iowa, 2011).
- Banco, Erin; et al. (November 7, 2018). "Jeff Sessions' Replacement, Matthew Whitaker, Led Secretive Anti-Dem Group". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Samuels, Brett (November 13, 2018). "Whitaker's past business dealings under scrutiny". TheHill. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- "Acting Attorney General Abandoned a Taxpayer-Funded Project in Iowa in 2016". Time. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- "Des Moines City Council Communication — Office of the City Manager — Resolution Approving HOME Agreement, Mortgage, and Related Documents, and Subordination Agreement, with We Can Build It, LLC for the Renovation of 2714 Ingersoll Avenue" (PDF). City of Des Moines. August 22, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- "GOP's Matt Whitaker says he's running for U.S. Senate". Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
- Obradovich, Kathie (June 30, 2014). "'Non-politician' Clovis drafted into new race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Bertrand, Natasha (November 7, 2018). "What Sessions's Resignation Means for Robert Mueller". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Top Trump campaign aide Clovis spoke to Mueller team, grand jury". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Caroline Kelly and Liz Stark. "Former Trump co-chairman on meeting FBI source: Like sitting in 'faculty lounge talking about research'". CNN. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Patrice, Joe (November 9, 2018). "Revisiting World Patent Marketing: The Multimillion-Dollar Scam Matt Whitaker Was Neck Deep In". Above the Law.
- Swaine, Jon (November 10, 2018). Trump's acting attorney general involved in firm that scammed veterans out of life savings The Guardian.
- Marketing, World Patent. "Former Republican Candidate for the United States Senate Joins World Patent Marketing Advisory Board". PR Newswire. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Shammas, Brittany (August 22, 2017). "A Miami Beach Scam Took Millions of Dollars From Thousands of Inventors, Feds Say". Miami New Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Federal Trade Commission, Press Release (May 10, 2018). "FTC Settlement Will Ban Fraudulent Marketers from Invention Promotion Business". www.FTC.gov. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- Leonnig, Carol D.; Helderman, Rosalind S. (November 9, 2018). "Federal investigators scrutinized Whitaker's role in patent company accused of fraud". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Whitaker, acting U.S. attorney general, was on board of firm that threatened duped clients with 'Israeli Special Ops'". Haaretz. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Maremont, Mark (November 7, 2018). "Jeff Sessions’ Successor Had Advised Company Accused of Scam". The Wall Street Journal.
- Bronstein, Scott. "Whitaker's link to a 'scam' company that was shut down by the government". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Shammas, Brittany (November 7, 2018). "Trump's Acting Attorney General Was Part of Miami-Based Invention Scam Company". Miami New Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Goldman, Adam; Robles, Frances (November 8, 2018). "Acting Attorney General Sat on Board of Company Accused of Bilking Customers". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Whitaker Said to Angrily Demand Website Remove Posts About Patent Firm", Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2018: https://www.wsj.com/articles/whitaker-said-to-angrily-demand-website-remove-posts-about-patent-firm-1542240851
- "'He was yelling': Whitaker pushed back against early fraud complaints about company he advised". Washington Post. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Zeitlin, Matthew. "The New Acting Attorney General Was Previously a Dark Money–Funded Clinton Antagonist". Slate. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Lanard, Noah (November 7, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker, the New Acting Attorney General, Was Obsessed With Clinton's Emails". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Matthew Whitaker". Fox News. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- "Conservative group calls for Grayson ethics probe". POLITICO. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Gold, Matea (February 20, 2015). "Conservative watchdog group accuses Democrats of illegally coordinating through voter data firm". Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Novak, Viveca; Massoglia, Anna (April 15, 2016). "New nonprofit tied to stealthy circle of dark money groups". OpenSecrets News. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Kenneth P. Vogel & Maggie Haberman (November 20, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker Earned $1.2 Million From Group Backed by Undisclosed Donors". New York Times.
- "Trump's new acting attorney general was obsessed with Clinton's emails". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Croucher, Shane (November 8, 2018). "Here's a list of Democrats acting AG Matt Whitaker wanted to investigate". Newsweek. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "In home state, new acting AG Whitaker was accused of playing politics with justice". CNN. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- Freedlander, David (November 9, 2018). "When Matthew Whitaker Ran 'a Chop Shop of Fake Ethics Complaints'". New York Magazine — Intelligencer. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- Woodruff, Betsy; Tani, Maxwell; Sommer, Will (November 8, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker, Mueller's New Boss, Said There Was 'No Collusion' With Russia". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker Was a CNN Contributor". The Hollywood Reporter. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Whitaker, Matthew. "Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far". CNN. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- Reilly, Ryan J. (September 22, 2017). "Jeff Sessions' New Chief of Staff: Mueller's Russia Probe Could Be A 'Witch Hunt'". HuffPost. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- "Matthew Whitaker Takes His Twitter Account Private, After His Tweet About the 'Mueller Lynch Mob' Reveals Conflicts". Fortune. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Matt Whitaker Named AG's Chief of Staff". National Association of Former United States Attorneys. October 11, 2017.
- Jansen, Bart (November 7, 2018). "Who is Matthew Whitaker? Hawkeye football star and federal prosecutor becomes acting attorney general". USA Today. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Trump fires Jeff Sessions, names Matthew Whitaker as interim attorney general". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Folley, Aris (November 22, 2018). "Trump says he's thankful for making a 'tremendous difference in this country'". The Hill.
- "Acting Attorney General Whitaker Announces National Security-Related Criminal Charges Against Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei". United States Department of Justice. January 28, 2019.
- "Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Announces National Security-Related Criminal Charges Against Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei". United States Department of Justice. January 28, 2019.
- "Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction Of Justice". United States Department of Justice. January 28, 2019.
- "Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Charged With Financial Fraud". United States Department of Justice. January 28, 2019.
- Lipton, Eric; Weiser, Benjamin (October 29, 2020). "Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan's Influence With Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- Balsamo, Michael (December 18, 2018). "Trump administration moves to ban bump stocks". Associated Press.
- Fink, Jenni (March 26, 2019). "Bump Stock Ban: What Does a Bump Stock Look Like? What Happens to Bump Stocks Turned Into the ATF?". Newsweek.
- "Federal Commission on School Safety Releases Comprehensive Resource Guide for Keeping Students, Teachers Safe at School". U.S. Department of Education. December 18, 2018.
- Benner, Katie; Fandos, Nicholas; Savage, Charlie (February 8, 2019). "Matthew Whitaker Hearing Updates: He Declines to Defend the Russia Inquiry". The New York Times.
- Boyd, Stephen (December 20, 2018). "McConnell and Schumer" (PDF). Letter to. The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Lucas, Ryan (December 21, 2018). "Acting Attorney General Whitaker Won't Recuse Himself From Mueller Inquiry". NPR. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- "Trump's interim pick to lead Justice Department faces scrutiny over criticisms of Mueller inquiry". USA Today. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Johnson, Kevin; Jansen, Bart (February 8, 2019). "Acting AG Whitaker testifies: 'I have not interfered in any way' with Russia probe". USA Today.
- Kirby, Jen (July 24, 2019). "Why Mueller saying his probe wasn't "curtailed" has nothing to do with obstruction". Vox.
- Tucker, Eric (November 14, 2018). "Justice legal opinion backs Whitaker's naming as acting AG". Associated Press. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- Jarrett, Laura (November 14, 2018). "DOJ says Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general is constitutional". CNN. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- "Why Trump could face legal challenges over Whitaker". Axios. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Vladeck, Stephen I. (November 9, 2018). "Whitaker May Be a Bad Choice, but He's a Legal One". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Katyal, Neal K., and Conway III, George T. (November 8, 2018). "Trump's Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Rudalevige, Andrew (November 10, 2018). "No one is surprised that Jeff Sessions is out. But is his replacement's appointment unconstitutional?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
But Conway's pedigree is quite different. While he has recently become a public critic of Trump, in the 1990s Conway helped with the Paula Jones case that helped lead to Bill Clinton's impeachment; he is married to high-ranking Trump staffer Kellyanne Conway; and he was seriously considered for the role of Trump's solicitor general.
- Yoo, John (November 13, 2018). "Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- Bies, John E. Matthew Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General: Three Lingering Questions, Lawfare, November 8, 2018.
- "After outcry over appointment, Trump's top law enforcer treading..." December 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
- Gurman, Sadie. "Maryland Files Challenge to Matthew Whitaker's Installation as Acting Attorney General". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- McFadden, David. "Maryland lawsuit seeks to protect Affordable Care Act from 'sabotage'". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "The Health 202: Maryland lawsuit aims to uphold ACA's constitutionality". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- "Press Release — Attorney General Frosh Files Lawsuit to Protect Marylanders from the Trump Administration's Sabotage of the Affordable Care Act" (PDF). Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- "Maryland Says Matthew Whitaker Appointment As Acting Attorney General Is Unlawful". NPR.org. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "Appointment of acting attorney general challenged in court". AP NEWS. November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General Faces Court Challenge". New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Gerstein, Josh (November 15, 2018). "Texas businessman challenges acting AG's legality". Politico. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Kendall, Brent (February 1, 2019). "Judge Dismisses Maryland Lawsuit Challenging Trump on Health-Law Enforcement, Whitaker Appointment". The Wall Street Journal.
- United States v. Valencia, No. 5:17-CR-882-DAE, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 200564, 2018 WL 6182755 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 27, 2018).
- United States v. Penn, No. 16cr1695-BEN (S.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2018).
- "Senate Democrats file lawsuit against Matthew Whitaker's appointment". November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- "Supreme Court asked to rule on Trump's choice of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general". Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- "Matt Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general challenged in Supreme Court". Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- Williams, Pete (January 15, 2019). "Supreme Court rejects challenge to Matt Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general". NBC News. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- Savage, Charlie (November 8, 2018). "Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker Once Criticized Supreme Court's Power". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Hall, Jacob. "Iowa U.S. Senate Candidate Profile: Q&A with Matt Whitaker". Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Kranish, Michael; Barnes, Robert (November 9, 2018). "As a Senate candidate, Whitaker said he could not support 'secular' judicial nominees and that courts should be 'inferior branch'". The Washington Post.
- "Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker once said Jews, Muslims and Atheists should not be federal judges". Newsweek. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- Kaczynski, Andrew (November 10, 2018). "Whitaker said he supports state's rights to nullify federal law". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Goldman, Adam; Shear, Michael D.; Smith, Mitch (November 9, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker: An Attack Dog With Ambition Beyond Protecting Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Woodruff, Betsy; Tani, Maxwell; Sommer, Will (November 8, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker, Mueller's New Boss, Said There Was 'No Collusion' With Russia". Retrieved November 12, 2018 – via www.thedailybeast.com.
- Rieger, JM (November 9, 2018). "Trump's new acting attorney general has long criticized the Russia probe". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Trump Installs a Critic of the Mueller Investigation to Oversee It". Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Acting AG in 2017: 'No collusion' between Russia and Trump campaign". Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- Sheth, Sonam (November 13, 2018). "Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker will consult with DOJ ethics officials about whether he should recuse himself from the Russia probe". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Waas, Murray (November 9, 2018). "Exclusive: Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker was counseling the White House on investigating Clinton". Vox. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Perez, Evan; et al. (November 9, 2018). "Sessions realized too late that Whitaker was auditioning for his job". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Price, Dave (September 9, 2018). "Report: Former Iowa Hawkeye Tight End Might Be President Trump's Next Lawyer". WHO TV. Des Moines. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- Swan, Jonathan (September 9, 2018). "Scoop: Inside Trump's biggest hire". Axios. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- Benner, Katie; Haberman, Maggie (September 26, 2018). "Matthew Whitaker, a Trump Loyalist, Is Seen as Ascendant Amid Rosenstein Chaos". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- Zapotosky, Matt; Dawsey, Josh (October 11, 2018). "Trump talked with Jeff Sessions's own chief of staff about replacing him as attorney general". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- Schreiner, Bruce (November 10, 2018). "Thin ice for new acting AG? Trump says 'I don't know' him". Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Sullivan, Eileen; Benner, Katie (November 9, 2018). "Trump on Friday: 'I Don't Know Matt Whitaker.' Trump Last Month: 'I Know Matt Whitaker.'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- Wagner, John (November 9, 2018). "Trump claims he doesn't know his new acting attorney general. A month ago he said he did". Washington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- "Trump's former acting attorney general tells Fox "abuse of power is not a crime"". Axios. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- "Matthew Whitaker on Principles & Values". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Iowa's U.S. Senate seat: Matt Whitaker, Republican". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Fired newspaper editor who blogged about gays' 'sinful nature' files lawsuit". LGBTQ Nation. Associated Press. July 24, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "State of Iowa Canvass Summary — Election: 2002 General Election (11/5/2002)" (PDF). December 2, 2002. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- "2014 Primary Election Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. Des Moines, Iowa: State of Iowa. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matthew Whitaker. |
- Department of Justice profile
- Archived official campaign site Matthew Whitaker for Treasurer (2002) and U.S. Senate (2014)
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Legal offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Stephen Patrick O'Meara |
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa 2004–2009 |
Succeeded by Nicholas A. Klinefeldt |
Preceded by Jeff Sessions |
United States Attorney General Acting 2018–2019 |
Succeeded by William Barr |