Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was feeling bold Friday morning.
Whitaker voluntarily testified before the House Judiciary Committee Friday morning. The committee had called the former almost academic All-American as part of its ongoing round of hearings relating to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Whitaker was asked questions regarding whether President Donald Trump’s decision to kick former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to the curb was related to Mueller’s inquiry.
Prior to Thursday night, the matter of whether or not Whitaker would even show up for the proceedings was unclear. According to the New York Times, Whitaker and the Justice Department wanted verbal and written confirmation that he would not be subpoenaed. After the confirmation was provided, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York confirmed Whitaker would show up in a statement issued on Thursday night. And come Friday, Whitaker put those assurances to good use.
As Nadler concluded his round of questioning—which included getting Whitaker to testify that he has not spoken with Trump about the Mueller investigation—he posed one final question: “Have you ever been asked to approve any requests or action to be taken by the Special Counsel?”
Whitaker, brashly aware of his limited obligations, decided not to answer Nadler’s question. Instead, he played the role of time-keeper.
“Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up,” Whitaker said. “I’m here voluntarily, [and] we agreed to five-minute rounds.”
This led to a brief uproar from the crowd.
Need you be reminded, Whitaker has long been a goofball, both online and in his legal practice. I mean, really, how much information was the committee expecting to get from a lawyer that boasts about bumming Taco John’s wifi in the first place?