POOL
Washington - 8 February 2019
1. Pan, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker walking into hearing
2. Side, hearing gaveled into session
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Judiciary Committee Chairman, Democrat - New York:
"When career officials that the Department recommended that you take steps to mitigate your apparent conflicts of interest when they told you that your public criticism of the special counsel was bad for the department and bad for the administration of justice you ignored them. You decided that your private interests in overseeing this particular investigation and perhaps others from which you should have been recused was more important than the integrity of the department. The question that this committee must now ask is why? Why did President Trump choose to replace Attorney General Sessions with an outspoken critic of the special counsel instead of with any number of qualified individuals who had already received Senate confirmation? Why did you ignore the career officials who went to extraordinary lengths to tell you that your continued involvement in the Special Counsel's work would undermine the credibility of the Department of Justice?"
4. Close-up Whitaker
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Judiciary Committee Chairman, Democrat - New York:
"I also take issue with your written testimony which we did not receive until almost midnight last night, when you suggest that you quote will continue the long standing executive branch policy and practice of not disclosing information that may be subject to executive privilege close quote. In other words you reserve the right to end to refuse to answer the question forever. That's not how it works."
6. Close-up Whitaker
7. Side, Ranking member Collins speaking
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, Republican - Georgia:
"If this is the way we're going to go, then we'll have plenty of stunts. We are going to have plenty of theatrics. Bringing your popcorn. I'm thinking about maybe we just got a former scene in the back because that's what this is becoming. It is becoming a show. When your presence was here, you were coming voluntarily. You've always said you're coming voluntarily. So we had the show yesterday. We now have the curtain dropped down and Mr. Whitaker, I guess your confirmation hearing's here. You've only got five days left on the job or six days left on the job. We could join together with the chairman to say Mr. Barr come in here because you've been actually the Attorney General Mr. Barr has been the attorney general he's been before this committee before we could have had substantive hearings but no we're going to have a show."
9. Side view of hearing
10. Various views, Whitaker being sworn in
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Whitaker, acting Attorney General:
"At no time has the White House asked for, nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel's investigation or any other investigation. Since becoming acting attorney general, I have run the Department of Justice with fidelity to the law and to the Constitution. During my time as the leader of the Department of Justice the Department has complied with the special counsel regulations and there has been no change in how the department has worked with the special counsel's office. Over the past day the department and the committee have exchanged letters concerning the respective prerogatives of the legislative and executive branches. I am pleased that we are able to reach an agreement that allows me to appear here voluntarily. I am pleased also that we agreed that each branch would seek to accommodate each other and that if we have differences we will try to work them out in good faith before resorting to subpoenas or other former--formal legal processes. I will answer the committee's questions as best I can but I will continue the long standing executive branch practice of not disclosing information that may be subject to executive privilege, such as the contents of conversations with the president."
12. Side view of hearing
