OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to the Hon. Lee Lofthus, Assistant Attorney General for Administration and Designated Agency Ethics Officer for the Department of Justice - After No Reply Or Public Explanation To Previous Request, Top House & Senate Democrats Demand In-Person Briefing From DOJ's Chief Ethics Official On Whether He Has Advised Mr. Whitaker to Recuse Himself from Overseeing the Mueller Investigation

Letter

Date: Dec. 6, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations Criminal Justice

Dear Assistant Attorney General Lofthus:

On November 11, 2018, we wrote to request that you immediately notify us in writing as to whether you or any other ethics officials at the Department of Justice have advised Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the Special Counsel investigation, and that you provide to us all ethics guidance Mr. Whitaker has been given to date. A copy of our earlier letter is attached.

It is our understanding that, 14 months after Mr. Whitaker joined the Department, his ethics review is still incomplete. The Department has offered no public explanation for this extraordinary delay, nor have we received any reply to our letter. This is unacceptable.

We therefore write to renew our November 11, 2018 request, and we ask that you also make yourself available to brief us and answer our questions in person. Our staff will contact you to schedule a time for this meeting.

Sincerely,


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