Whitaker: I have 'not interfered' with Mueller investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said today he has "not interfered in any way" in the special counsel's Russia investigation as he faced a contentious and partisan congressional hearing in his waning days on the job.

The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee was the first, and likely only, chance for newly empowered Democrats in the majority to grill an attorney general they perceive as a Donald Trump loyalist and whose appointment they suspect was aimed at suppressing investigations of the Republican president.

Republicans made clear they viewed the hearing as pointless political grandstanding especially since Whitaker may have less than a week left as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

Whitaker, even while expressing exasperation at the questioning of Democrats, nonetheless sought to assuage their concerns by saying he had never discussed with Trump or other White House officials special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

He told lawmakers that there had been no change since his arrival in the job in the "overall management" of Mueller's investigation and that he has been faithful to the Constitution and to the law.

"We have followed the special counsel's regulations to a T," Whitaker said. "There has been no event, no decision, that has required me to take any action, and I have not interfered in any way with the special counsel's investigation."

His frustration was evident as he repeatedly insisted that he would not discuss his conversations with the president and implored lawmakers to focus on the more conventional work of the Justice Department, not just the Mueller investigation.

In a comment that drew audible gasps and chuckles, Whitaker addressed the committee's Democratic chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, by saying, "Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes are up." That referred to the time limits for questions – one normally addressed by lawmakers, not witnesses.

But Nadler, who a day earlier had threatened to subpoena Whitaker to ensure his appearance, left no doubt about his party's focus.

"You decided that your private interest in overseeing this particular investigation – and perhaps others from which you should have been recused – was more important than the integrity of the department," said Nadler, of New York. "The question that this committee must now ask is: Why?"

Republicans derided the hearing as political theater especially since Whitaker may well be in his final week on the job. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the committee's top Republican, called it a "dog-and-pony show" and criticized Democrats for releasing derogatory information about Whitaker's business dealings hours before the hearing.