November 13, 2018

Fox News "Judge" Andrew Napolitano is no fan of Donald Trump or Trump's recent maneuvers at the Justice Department. He tried to inform Fox & Friends hosts about the legal issues, but they're pretty dim and kept spewing "but-buts" at him instead of listening.

First, Napolitano argues that it is an unlawful appointment because there was no Senate confirmation.

Secondly, Napolitano noted that Maryland is challenging Whitaker's position in court with regard to their lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act.

As Napolitano notes, Maryland asked a federal judge on Tuesday for an injunction declaring that Mr. Whitaker is not the legitimate acting attorney general as a matter of law, and that the position — and all its powers — instead rightfully belongs to the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.

We are still waiting for a ruling to come down on that, but that will definitely be the beginning of the challenge to Whitaker's position as Acting Attorney General.

Steve Doocy quickly noted that a ruling removing Whitaker will be challenged.

"Of course it will be," Napolitano shot back. "If he is removed, then the DOJ will challenge to the Fourth circuit and eventually get to the Supreme Court. Has the Attorney General of the United States ever been removed by a federal judge because the appointment was illegal? No. This would be a first."

Brian Kilmeade then chimed in, quoting the Wall Street Journal's support for Whitaker as if they are even more powerful than the Supreme Court.

"I realize there are arguments on both sides and I also realize that firing Jeff Sessions is very destabilizing to the DOJ," he replied evenly. "Now, getting rid of the person that succeeded him will be even more destabilizing."

" We are almost at the point of a Saturday Night Massacre in the Nixon administration," he said. "We didn't know who was running the DOJ or the FBI and you can't have musical chairs...but you have to have a lawfully appointed person in there because he is sixth in line to the presidency. The power that he has with respect to criminal prosecutions is awesome. He must have undergone Senate vetting."

It was so interesting to see these yakkers push back on a perfectly reasonable reading of Trump's despotic behavior. They'd just as soon cite the Wall Street Journal as authority as they would the law. Maybe they should just listen to the "judge" they pay to opine on matters of law instead.

As for his remarks about how this is almost a Saturday Night Massacre, I'd argue we're there already. Sessions was fired and a man with no qualifications, no legal standing, and a string of scandal in his past is now our Acting Attorney General. Here are a few of the more mundane reasons he shouldn't be where he is:

  • He said out loud that he didn't believe Jews, Muslims and Atheists should not be federal judges
  • He walked away from a publicly-financed housing project in 2016, leaving a $700,000 in default
  • He was involved in a business that scammed veterans before it shut down

So. Whitaker's appointment is probably unconstitutional, he is a scammer and a bigot, and definitely is unqualified to hold the highest law enforcement office in the land. Fox Friends would do well to listen to Napolitano and ignore the rest.

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