Whitaker Given Preliminary Notice Of Cohen Guilty Plea

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 21: Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker delivers remarks to the Joint Terrorism Task Force on November 21, 2018 in New York City. Whitaker was appointed Acting Attorney General by U.S. Pr... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 21: Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker delivers remarks to the Joint Terrorism Task Force on November 21, 2018 in New York City. Whitaker was appointed Acting Attorney General by U.S. President Donald Trump after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to resign. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was informed in advance that President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen planned to plead guilty to lying to Congress about the timeline of his work on the development of a Trump Tower in Russia, The Washington Post reported. 

As acting head of the Justice Department, Whitaker currently oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign. Despite his public comments as a private citizen slamming the investigation, Whitaker has not yet taken any action to curb Mueller’s efforts.

It was not clear how Whitaker reacted to news of Cohen’s guilty plea, the Post reported. While Justice Department policy requires the attorney general be informed of “major developments” in investigations, the attorney general does not have to sign off on those developments, the Post noted.

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