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Thursday 15 November 2018

Justice legal opinion backs Whitaker’s naming as acting AG

By ERIC TUCKER ing been with the Justice
Associated Press Department for at least
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 90 days and earning high
Justice Department on enough pay for consider-
Wednesday released an ation.
internal legal opinion sup- “As all three branches of
porting the legality of Mat- government have long
thew Whitaker’s appoint- recognized, the President
ment as acting attorney may designate an acting
general as Democrats press official to perform the du-
the case that President ties of a vacant principal
Donald Trump violated the office, including a Cabinet
law and Constitution by office, even when the act-
making Whitaker the coun- ing official has not been
try’s chief law enforcement confirmed by the Senate,”
officer. the opinion said.
The 20-page opinion from The opinion identified more
the Office of Legal Coun- than 160 times before 1860
sel, which provides advice in which non-Senate offi-
to executive branch agen- cials were temporarily ap-
cies, aims to rebut mount- Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, center, greets state and local law enforcement pointed to fill vacancies
ing complaints that Trump officials at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, as Cabinet secretaries or
illegally sidestepped proce- in Des Moines, Iowa. equivalent jobs, including
dure by appointing Whita- Associated Press some with no prior experi-
ker over Deputy Attorney arguing that the top Jus- and a handful of GOP sen- The opinion tries to recon- ence in federal govern-
General Rod Rosenstein. tice Department job must ators are urging their lead- cile two seemingly conflict- ment.
Rosenstein, the second- be held by a Senate- ership to hold a vote on ing statutes by saying that It said that both Presi-
ranking Justice Depart- confirmed official such as legislation that would pro- even though the depart- dents George W. Bush
ment official, has been Rosenstein. A defense law- tect Mueller. ment’s own line of suc- and Barack Obama had
confirmed by the Senate yer in Las Vegas is arguing It was unclear whether the cession specifies that the designated unconfirmed
and had been oversee- a drug case involving his legal opinion would satisfy deputy attorney general agency officials as acting
ing special counsel Robert client should be halted if opponents of Whitaker’s may hold the top spot in agency heads and that
Mueller’s Russia investiga- Whitaker was improperly appointment, but the doc- the event of a vacancy, a Whitaker was not the first
tion. Whitaker had been appointed. ument does provide by far more general law known as unconfirmed official to run
chief of staff to now-ousted Congressional Democrats, the most detailed defense the Vacancies Reform Act an agency on an interim
Attorney General Jeff Ses- meanwhile, have called from the Justice Depart- empowers presidents to basis in the Trump adminis-
sions, a job that didn’t re- the appointment uncon- ment of a selection that depart from that order and tration.
quire Senate confirmation. stitutional and demanded has roiled Washington. to promote officials who Even so, the opinion could
He became acting attor- that Whitaker recuse him- The opinion concludes that haven’t been confirmed identify only one instance,
ney general when Sessions self from overseeing the Whitaker, even without by the Senate. in 1866, when a non-Senate
was forced out on Nov. 7 Mueller investigation. At Senate confirmation, may Although Whitaker is not confirmed assistant attor-
and was given oversight of least two former Repub- serve in an acting capac- Senate confirmed and ney general became act-
Mueller’s inquiry. lican attorneys general, ity because he has been at was not the deputy, the ing attorney general. The
Since then, the state of Alberto Gonzales and Mi- the department for more opinion concludes that he Justice Department was
Maryland has challenged chael Mukasey, have also than a year at a “sufficient- nonetheless satisfies a third not established as its own
Whitaker’s appointment, raised questions about it, ly senior pay level.” element of the law by hav- agency until 1870.q

U.S. panel warns against government purchase of Chinese tech

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON contributing factor in trade lect and share data and
Associated Press tensions that have seen the connect to the internet.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A world’s two largest econo- Such devices could be ev-
congressional advisory mies slap billions of dollars erything from household
panel says the purchase in punitive tariffs on each appliances like refrigera-
of internet-linked devices other’s products this year. tors and air conditioners
manufactured in China The U.S. also has had long- to warehouse delivery sys-
leaves the United States running concerns about tems, smart traffic signs and
vulnerable to security state-backed cyber theft aerial drones.
breaches that could put of corporate secrets, some- “The scale of Chinese state
critical infrastructure at risk. thing that China agreed to support for the IoT, the
In its annual report on stop in 2015. close supply chain integra-
Wednesday, the U.S.-Chi- But the bipartisan commis- tion between the United
na Economic and Security sion highlights the potential States and China, and Chi-
Review Commission warns security risks to the United na’s role as an economic
of dangers to the U.S. gov- In this Sept. 16, 2018, photo, American flags are displayed States by China’s pre- and military competitor to
ernment and private sector together with Chinese flags on top of a trishaw in Beijing. eminence in the so-called the United States creates
from a reliance on global Associated Press internet of things, or IoT, enormous economic, secu-
supply chains linked to information technology in the high-tech industry by which refers to the prolif- rity, supply chain, and data
China, which is the world’s equipment. 2025 already is a sore point eration of physical devices privacy risks for the United
largest manufacturer of China’s push to dominate with Washington and a that have sensors that col- States,” the report says.q