At the center of the controversial dismissal of now former Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is the question of conflict of interest. Because he was a witness Sessions recused (withdrew) from supervision of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election on behalf the Trump campaign. His temporary replacement presents a different concern: the possibility that his advocacy role as a critic of the Russia investigation and defender of Donald Trump casts doubt on his ability to fairly assess the evidence and make appropriate choices.
Although not a judge, the Attorney General is expected to be independent of the President, owing fealty to the Constitution and nation rather than the President himself. And as a head of Department in the executive branch the Attorney General and the Department of Justice owes a duty to, like the president, serve the law faithfully - not to be the personal agent of the chief executive.
Such questions are the topic of an important new study forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review. My Fordham Colleagues Andrew Kent, Jed Shugerman, and Ethan Leib look back and ask what does it mean to "faithfully execute" the laws of the United States.
Although not a judge, the Attorney General is expected to be independent of the President, owing fealty to the Constitution and nation rather than the President himself. And as a head of Department in the executive branch the Attorney General and the Department of Justice owes a duty to, like the president, serve the law faithfully - not to be the personal agent of the chief executive.
Such questions are the topic of an important new study forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review. My Fordham Colleagues Andrew Kent, Jed Shugerman, and Ethan Leib look back and ask what does it mean to "faithfully execute" the laws of the United States.
Using the principle of appearance of impropriety embedded in the Code of Conduct of United States Judges the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on November 8 called upon the embattled Acting Attorney General to recuse from key investigations underway by the Department of Justice which he now heads. On November 15, as new information about Whitaker's role as counsel to an allegedly fraudulent company World Patent Marketing emerged, along with evidence of his confidential relationship with President Donald Trump, CREW supplemented its demand for recusal made to the Justice Department's ethics officer..,
The November 8 letter reads, in part:
To ensure the integrity of the Department of Justice and its continuing commitment to the rule of law, Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker must promptly recuse from all Department of Justice investigations of President Donald J. Trump as well as the President’s current and former associates, businesses, and campaign. Those matters include (but may not be limited to):
• The investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Trump, matters that arose or may arise from that investigation, and of obstruction of justice and other attempts to interfere with this investigation; and
• The investigation of personal income, false statement, campaign finance, and other offenses involving Michael Cohen (the president’s former personal attorney), the Trump Organization, and the Trump Campaign by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including any attempts to obstruct or interfere with this investigation.
President Trump has been personally implicated in these two matters...
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