Democratic U.S. senators sue to challenge Trump's Whitaker appointment
By Sarah N.
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Democratic senators filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing President Donald Trump of illegally appointing Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general, saying Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and denied the Senate its right to approve the nomination.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse and Senator Mazie Hirono, is the most high-profile litigation so far to be brought challenging Whitaker's appointment.
"Americans prize a system of checks and balances, which President Trump's dictatorial appointment betrays," Blumenthal said in a statement.
Whitaker took over supervision of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election after Trump appointed him on Nov. 7 as the chief U.S. law enforcement official to replace Jeff Sessions, who the president ousted. Whitaker in the past criticized the scope of Mueller's probe and brought up the possibility of undermining it by slashing the special counsel's funding.
The attorney general of Maryland last week brought a similar legal challenge, saying Trump violated the so-called Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the job of attorney general is a "principal officer" who must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. A hearing on Maryland's legal challenge is slated for Dec. 19.
A challenge to Whitaker's appointment was also made as part of a Supreme Court case on gun rights.
Last week, the Justice Department issued a 20-page legal opinion declaring that Trump's appointment of Whitaker was lawful under a 1998 law called the Federal Vacancies Reform Act even though he was not a Senate-confirmed official. Many legal experts have disagreed with the department's view.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
also read
France, Germany to agree to NATO role against Islamic State - sources | Reuters
By Robin Emmott and John Irish | BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.The decision to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda."NATO as an institution will join the coalition," said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. "The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States
China's Xi says navy should become world class | Reuters
BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater efforts to make the country's navy a world class one, strong in operations on, below and above the surface, as it steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.China's navy has taken an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and a new aircraft carrier launched last month.With President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the U.S. Navy.Inspecting navy headquarters, Xi said the navy should "aim for the top ranks in the world", the Defence Ministry said in a statement about his visit."Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," the ministry paraphrased Xi as saying.