How Did Whitaker Get So High Up In The DOJ?.....

[global1]

Who hired him in the first place? Did they vett him as I understand he's had a checkered past? How long has he been employed in the DOJ? What qualified him for a job in the DOJ? How much contact has he had with Trump?

[Grasswire2]

1. He wasn't that high up. They groomed him for some time for this.

And according to all the experts, the rule of succession should have been followed, making Rosenstein AG.

[RockRaven]

2. Trump saw him on CNN doing talking head bits. Seriously.

He was in private practice in the midwest after law school, was active in Repuke politics there, and got rewarded by Bush for his politicking with a US Attorney gig despite his lack of experience (was never an Assistant US Att. first). Obviously as a political appointee when Obama was elected he was let go. Some time during the Obama admin was when he got involved in this scam company.

When Trump got elected, Whitaker literally moved to New York so he could do CNN punditry treading on his former US Attorney title (loudly defending Trump and calling Russia investigation - then Mueller investigation - bogus while claiming Clinton was the real crook). He did so explicitly hoping to catch Trump's eye. It worked. So he got offered Sessions's Chief of Staff job, because it did not require Senate confirmation (which with his scam background he would not survive).

[dewsgirl]

5. I think there could be more to it than this.

The shady, corrupt deals and dark money in his past point to somerhing possibly much darker.

[SaschaHM]

3. Matt Whitaker: A history

Bounced from law firms for a bit. Ran and lost a political seat in 2002. Appointed by bush as a U.S. Attorney in 2004. Managed a small law firm from 2009-2017, during which he was co chairman of Rick Perry's prez campaign, and did some other political shit.

None of that matter though because in August of 2017 he wrote a column critical of Mueller's investigation and was made chief of staff to Sessions the next month.

Connections, a politically tainted resume, and a knack for kissing ass.

[dewsgirl]

4. I read somwhere today, that he has 3 years

Of dark money financing him.

[bdjhawk]

8. He ran a RW group funded by Koch's

That harassed Hillary primarily but also other Dems by constantly filing court cases against them and other nasty investigations.

[Jane Austin]

6. Parachute?

Seems like he just jumped into the top spot.

[Cattledog]

7. He's a nut case who believes in religious tests (Christian) for judges.

He was a US Attorney and a mediocre one at that for 5 years. He only got the job because trump thinks he will protect him.

[OnDoutside]

9. Surely he would have to have got security clearance ? With his history, I wonder if he has been

truthful on his form ?

[underpants]

10. Trump hires - bartender brake shop manager landscaper

The links aren't hyperlinked. I remember seeing this a while ago. Gives a good summary of Trump hiring sycophants someone in his organization saw that were fans.



Even by the standards of some of Trump's judicial picks, this list of Trump Administration government hires is astonishingly horrible:
?Sid Bowdidge, assistant to the secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Before working for the Trump campaign, Bowdidge, from 2013 to 2015, was manager of the Meineke Car Care branch in Seabrook, N.H. He previously was service and branch manager for tire shops. I don’t know what qualified Bowdidge for his position, but I do know this: He is not going to pay a lot for that muffler. (He had to hit the road, losing his job after it was discovered he had called Muslims “maggots.”)
?Victoria Barton, congressional relations for Regions II, V and VI, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to working for the Trump campaign, Barton was an office manager and, between 2013 and 2015, a “bartender/bar manager.” The expertise in housing policy possessed by Barton is no doubt invaluable to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, a retired brain surgeon.
?Christopher Hagan, a confidential assistant at the Agriculture Department. Before working on the Trump campaign, he was, between 2009 and 2015, a “cabana attendant” at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. According to his résumé, he “identified and addressed customer’s needs in a timely and orderly manner.” This is important, because you never know when somebody at the USDA is going to need a towel.
?Nick Brusky, also a confidential assistant at the USDA. The Trump campaign worker previously drove a truck. He was a trustee in Butler Township, Ohio, at the same time, and, as Politico noted, his résumé lists coursework but no degree.
?David Matthews, yet another confidential assistant at the Agriculture Department, developed scented candles while also serving as a “legal receptionist” before joining the Trump campaign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-other-huge-scandal-mueller-brought-to-light-this-week/2017/11/01/5e05a458-bf4c-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c5a0c002cfc3
Similarly, Trump campaign alum Tim Page, a 2016 graduate of Appalachian State University, is now at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency that helps farmers, ranchers and forest managers employ conservation practices. Page's résumé indicates that he owns Cutting Edge LLC, a landscaping service in Connelly Springs, North Carolina.

https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/Board/106149/Contents/Trumps-Best-People-109832706/

[uponit7771]

11. +1

[UTUSN]

12. *vetting*?!1 - they don't need no steenking vetting!1

[Firehawk]

13. He got there by prosecuting gays and Democrats

He tried made a name for himself by targeting a gay and Dem politician in Iowa. It failed miserably.

I haven’t seen McCoy’s story anywhere besides The Washington Times (!). It’s compelling and should be a bigger story. Floored a Trump loving paper would even cover it.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/8/matthew-whitaker-appointment-ignites-partisan-fire/

It’s chilling this guy is now our top law enforcercer.

[sunonmars]

14. Post turtle, must be good at political blowjobs or literally good at them.

[Vinca]

15. If he failed his background check could the Orange Fuhrer still have installed him at DOJ????

I don't see how he could have gotten through the background check given the fraud case.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. He was chairman of Sam Clovis's campaign for Iowa state treasurer

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.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-whitaker/whitakers-friendship-with-trump-aide-reignites-recusal-debate-idUKKCN1ND2SP

And I read somewhere, but I can't find it now, that it was Clovis who suggested Whitaker went into TV punditry, which allowed him to appear on Trump's screen saying "boo, hiss" to Mueller, so Trump had him hired. If I can find that, I'll add a link.

Whitaker was a US Attorney from 2005 to 2009 in Iowa, so he's not entirely unqualified: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Whitaker_%28attorney%29#United_States_Attorney

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I found the article about Clovis suggesting Whitaker went on TV to get noticed by Trump

It was CNN itself:

Clovis was also listed an unnamed "campaign supervisor" in the indictment of former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, according to The Washington Post.
...
It was Clovis, no stranger to TV and radio himself, who encouraged Whitaker to get a regular commentary gig on cable television to get President Donald Trump's attention, according to friends who Whitaker told at the time. Whitaker was hired as a CNN legal commentator last year for several months, before leaving the role in September 2017 to head to the Justice Department as chief of staff to now-former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Through his CNN role, where he was deeply critical of the Mueller probe, Whitaker got to know Trump, who saw him on TV and later met in person.
...
"He worships him," a longtime friend said of Whitaker and Trump.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/07/politics/whitaker-sessions-mueller-clovis/index.html