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This letter reveals a lot about Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, but I want to focus lower down in the chain of command – on the “ODAG ethics official” and other “ethics officials” at DOJ, and what they mean for the rule of law today. 1/6
These ethics officials are the ones who said that Whitaker “should recuse himself from supervision of the Special Counsel investigation because…a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts likely would question [his] impartiality” under the governing regulation. 2/6
That cannot have been pleasant or easy. Speaking truth to power is always hard. It’s especially hard if you have reason to believe that those in power are prone to using it vindictively or for personal gain. 3/6
My bet is that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, being a decent human being and a good boss, probably tried to protect these ethics officials, and make them feel protected, so they could give their honest assessments. But they surely knew that he could not really protect them. 4/6
So, it was an act of personal courage for these officials to say no to Whitaker, even if they also knew that he could and would reject their views. And it is a good illustration of the meaning, strength and fragility of the rule of law in America today. 5/6
The rule of law means following the rules even when they lead to an uncomfortable result. And we see in this letter how much it can depend on individual acts of integrity under pressure. We are lucky to have the career staff at DOJ. 6/6
