Whitaker: Handling of Russia probe most likely went beyond bad judgement
Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, author of the new book 'Above the Law,' weighs in on renewed scrutiny surrounding the Russia investigation.
“Many people” involved in the investigations into President Trump, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and others tied to the Trump campaign and administration “either used poor discretion and judgment or even worse, may have committed criminal acts," former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
He added that U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is investigating the FBI and the origins of the Russia investigation, is going to make a judgment call on what the motive was for the investigations.
Whitaker noted that one question Durham will try to answer is whether the investigations were based on “improper” political attacks, which appears to have been the case based on the information that's come out.
Whitaker, who served as the acting attorney general during 18 months of Trump’s presidency, made the comments after internal memos were released raising serious questions about the nature of the investigation that led to Flynn’s late 2017 guilty plea of lying to the FBI. Earlier this month, in a stunning development, the Justice Department moved to drop its case against Flynn.
Last week, it was revealed top Obama administration officials, including former Vice President Joe Biden, purportedly requesting to “unmask” the identity of Flynn -- whose calls with the former Russian ambassador during the presidential transition were picked up in surveillance and later leaked.
When asked to list some of the “bad guys” related to the Russia probe, Whitaker named Former FBI Director James Comey, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and former FBI agent Peter Strzok.
READ: DOJ MOTION TO DISMISS FLYNN CASE
“But I think there were many others that either made poor decisions or worse and we are going to find out once John Durham's investigation comes back,” said Whitaker, author of the new book "Above the Law: The Inside Story of How the Justice Department Tried to Subvert President Trump."
Host Steve Doocy asked Whitaker if the so-called “bad guys” made those "poor decisions or worse” on purpose.
“It sure looks like it based on what we are learning every day, from the January 5 meeting that happened at the White House, from what we know Jim Comey did to cause the special counsel to be appointed, from Andy McCabe making Trump the target of an investigation without any evidence or predication for that investigation,” Whitaker said.
“I think we see a lot of actions that, to me, were not just bad judgment, but were probably worse than that.”
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Doocy then asked Whitaker if he thinks “that laws were broken or just bent?”
“There is no doubt in the examples of General Flynn and President Trump where there was improperly predicated or no evidence to start an investigation, that was for sure inconsistent with FBI policies and procedures, and it may have been worse,” he said.
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