Page 17 - Executive Function News Today

>> i dont. for reasons we have talked about. i dont think personnel decisions, including the firing of the fbi director can constitute obstruction of justice. >> do you know why you do it? >> i dont think you can separate that out from the fact that thats the presidents prerogative any more than what "the new york times" reports today that the president was trying to install a perceived loyalist on top of the southern district of new york investigation. thats an executive function. just because ...

Dealing with national security. although ive never heard of a president doing what donald trump did. i also worked in national security issues in the clinton white house. i have never heard of a president doing what donald trump did, but we have to recognize conversations between a president and foreign leader go to the very heart of our national security, our foreign policy enterprise. yes, its terribly concerning if the president was doing something untoward in those conversations but we have ...

Has been overseeing the mueller investigation. if you are talking. naught whitakers stants as a private citizen a year and a half ago i dont think that disqualifies somebody from being the chief law enforcement officer at the department of justice which is an executive function. chris: whitaker has had a lot to say about mueller. here he is about a possible way to shut down the special counsel. >> i can see a scenario where jeff sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that attorney ge...

Private citizen a year and a half ago when the mueller investigation started what he said on cable tv i dont think that disqualifies somebody from being the chief law enforcement officer at the department of justice, an executive function. >> some house republicans maintained that rod rosenstein who whitaker replaced to oversee the russian probe didnt recuse himself. he signed -- surveillance warrants are under investigation by the inspector general. rosenstein is also a possible witness in the ...

From being the chief law enforcement officer which is an executive function. >> with that id like to welcome in my panel for this hour. intelligence and national security reporter kendall and white house burro chief and analyst phillip rucker and washington burro chief and msnbc contributor kimberly atkins and editor of the resurgent, eric ericsson. i want to start with who is matt whitaker and how strange and outside the norm it is to have somebody not confirmed by the senate do this job. >> it...

Has been overseeing the mueller investigation. if you are talking. naught whitakers statements as a private citizen a year and a half ago i dont think that disqualifies somebody from being the chief law enforcement officer at the department of justice which is an executive function. chris: whitaker has had a lot to say about mueller. here he is about a possible way to shut down the special counsel. >> i can see a scenario where jeff sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that attorne...

Resist, the politics of delay. suing the national archives could go on forever or be dropped at a moments notice so it wouldnt happen at any time soon. and that is where chuck schumer is. its not really a vetting of the candidate who, by the way has 300 decisions roughly. public records, theyve been at the bush library where they can read a lot of this. if they get things that are classified, what are they actually going to do with them? >> it is attached to the vetting of the candidate but even...

Idea to sue for these documents? >> and, i think what they are raising the specter of, and i dont have any insight on this, but its my guess, my educated guess, as staff secretary in the white house, was he attached to hot button issues of the day? torture, reproductive and women health rights, overseas activities, what was he involved in? my concern there is, thats an executive function and he was doing his job there, its not a judicial function and thats what he should be evaluated on. so it f...

What do you make of that play? >> a very smart tactical play by a very smart democratic leader. i dont say that because i used to work for him. its smart politics and smart poll civil im sure theyll get a lot of angry calls and tweets about this. while public disclosure especially for something as important as the supreme court confirmation process is important, and vital for the public policy and public conversation, i think the nominees role in the white house as a staff secretary controlling ...

>> bret: getting the interpreter to come to capitol hill and it doesnt seem like that is going anywhere. >> it would be really inappropriate to interrogate the interpreter. its an executive function, its an executive branch privilege thing. its a bad idea. at the same time, the fact that -- people forget donald trump, before they walked it back, donald trump in the helsinki press conference touted this idea of this reciprocal deal with the russians where they get to interview browder and mcfaul ...