Trevor Potter Comments: Whitaker's Friendship with Trump Aide Reignites Recusal Debate

Matthew Whitaker, named [. . .] to replace Jeff Sessions, will directly oversee Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible links between Trump’s campaign team and Russian officials. Whitaker publicly criticized Mueller’s investigation before he was hired as Sessions’ chief of staff last year.

Sam Clovis, who was co-chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign and has testified before the grand jury in the Mueller investigation, said he and Whitaker became good friends when they ran against each other as Republicans in a 2014 Senate primary campaign in Iowa. Whitaker also later served as the chairman of a Clovis campaign for state treasurer.

. . .

Trevor Potter, a former Republican commissioner on the Federal Election Commission who now leads the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for more transparency in elections, said the question of whether Whitaker should recuse himself depends on Clovis’ status in the Mueller investigation.

“If he has a close personal friendship with someone who is involved in the investigation because of his role in the Trump campaign, then that would present a recusal issue,” Potter said.

Mr. Potter also leads the Political Law Group at Caplin & Drysdale.

For the full article, please visit Reuters’ website.

Excerpt taken from the article “Whitaker's Friendship with Trump Aide Reignites Recusal Debate” by Ginger Gibson and Julia Harte for Reuters.