Thread by @kegill

Excellent analysis of "FACT" and Whittaker from #TPM

Whitaker's op-ed was "highly critical of a candidate, and he ought not to be doing that, because it’s a political partisan comment."

Whittaker founded his Section 501c3 NFP in 2015.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/whitaker-…

Section 501c3 tax code prohibits non-profits "from supporting or opposing political candidates during a campaign." But "FACT" under Whittaker did that more than once.

"in 2016 [Whitaker] earned more than twice what leaders of similar groups were paid on average that year"
Charity Navigator is our friend, not his.
His THREE-person board of directors that included just one unsalaried member.

Whitaker's NFP is an example of Russian-doll-financing.
Almost all of its $ came from Donor’s Trust, a <<nonprofit built to give conservative and libertarian philanthropists “any level of privacy they want,” according to its marketing materials.>>

Add Whitaker to the growing lists of men whose photos should illustrate the dictionary entry for unscrupulous attorney.

The @washingtonpost editorial board was blunt Friday:
There is no way this man should be running the Justice Department
washingtonpost.com/opinions/there…

"The department has a capable, Senate-confirmed deputy attorney general in Rod J. Rosenstein; he should be running the department in the absence of a permanent replacement."

In 2002, Whitaker ran as a Republican for Iowa state treasurer and lost to incumbent Democrat Michael Fitzgerald.

In 2012, he was campaign co-chair for Texas Governor Rick Perry.

In 2014 Whitaker unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate.

In his campaigns, Whitaker <<courted the anti-abortion, evangelical Christian vote, saying at one candidate's forum that he would scrutinise nominees for federal judge to ensure they had a "biblical view of justice".>>
bbc.com/news/world-us-…

From his 2014 campaign, another reason he should not head the DOJ: his opposition to Marbury v. Madison (1803).
The decision "is the foundational case of American constitutional law" -- the SCOTUS is the ultimate determinate of constitutionality.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/matth…

<< In Marshall’s famous words, “it is emphatically the duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”>>

The decision cements the courts as the third leg of government, “possess[ing] the power to strike down an Act of Congress as unconstitutional."

Whitaker thinks that's nonsense.
When asked in 2014 about the worst decisions in the history of the SCOTUS, he started with Marbury v. Madison.
You can see why he'd never be confirmed before a Senate that was concerned about the nation's future.

Bush appointed Whitaker as U.S. attorney in southern district of Iowa (2004 to 2009).

Also in 2014, Whitaker joined the board of World Patent Marketing:

2015: formed his 501(c)3 NFP, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.

Here's the FTC on World Patent Marketing:
“an invention-promotion scam that has bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.”
washingtonpost.com/politics/befor…

Whitaker was a conservative legal commentator on CNN for four months in 2017 before joining DOJ.

Two of his controversial op-eds from that period:
thehill.com/blogs/pundits-…

cnn.com/2017/08/06/opi…

Whitaker become part of Sessions' staff in October 2017 after the Federal Trade Commission shuttered World Patent Marketing for fraud.
ftc.gov/enforcement/ca…

An FBI investigation is ongoing; Whitaker as acting AG oversees the FBI.
wsj.com/articles/fbi-i…

Became. Not become. <smh>

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1061407…