1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,560
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg Law Podcast. I'm June Grosso. Every

2
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,440
Speaker 1: day we bring you insight and analysis into the most

3
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,399
Speaker 1: important legal news of the day. You can find more

4
00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:18,040
Speaker 1: episodes of the Bloomberg Law Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud,

5
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,759
Speaker 1: and on Bloomberg dot com Slash podcasts. As Florida election

6
00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,640
Speaker 1: officials continue to recount ballots in the states Senate and

7
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,120
Speaker 1: guber tutorial races, Democratic counidate Andrew Gillum is remaining hopeful

8
00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,480
Speaker 1: and slamming critics of the recount process. God knows how

9
00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,880
Speaker 1: this thing will end up ultimately, But if you've got confidence,

10
00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,040
Speaker 1: if you've got assuredness that the voters of this state

11
00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 1: shows you, then you would want every single vote to

12
00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,600
Speaker 1: be counted, every one of them. And joining us is

13
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,800
Speaker 1: rich Bfal. He's a professor at Columbia Law School. So

14
00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,320
Speaker 1: Richard's deja vu all over again. Are you having nightmares

15
00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,760
Speaker 1: about hanging chats or is this something altogether different in Florida. Well,

16
00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:02,600
Speaker 1: it's not going to be hanging chats this time, but

17
00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,640
Speaker 1: it is kind of amazing, uh, that we're back in

18
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,920
Speaker 1: a similar situation of recounts and counting ballots all over again. Um,

19
00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,160
Speaker 1: I'm hopeful it won't be quite as crazy as last time.

20
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,600
Speaker 1: And uh it's a little earlier stage in the process.

21
00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,279
Speaker 1: We're literally going to go, I think, to the machine

22
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,800
Speaker 1: recount in the Gilham race and will be there will

23
00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,520
Speaker 1: be a hand recount, a manual recount in the Senate

24
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,520
Speaker 1: race because it's so close, But I hopefully, I think

25
00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,080
Speaker 1: we're past hanging chats now. There's a judge in Florida

26
00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,440
Speaker 1: who said today he has seen no evidence of wrongdoing

27
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,720
Speaker 1: in the vote county in Broward County, and and he

28
00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,640
Speaker 1: urged all sides to ramp down the rhetoric, saying that

29
00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,880
Speaker 1: the citizens need reassurance at the integrity of the recount

30
00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,280
Speaker 1: is being protected. Is that really threatened? I think it's

31
00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:50,800
Speaker 1: a very good point. I mean, I think there's been

32
00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:56,120
Speaker 1: a lot of really wild, wild and unsubstantiated accusations, um

33
00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,680
Speaker 1: more on the Republican side or entirely on the Republican side,

34
00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,480
Speaker 1: as they saw their leads began to get smaller as

35
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,080
Speaker 1: a result of the continuing flowing in of that of

36
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,320
Speaker 1: late ballots, absentee ballots, for visional ballots. I think part

37
00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,720
Speaker 1: of what we're seeing in Florida which makes this one

38
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,800
Speaker 1: different from two thousand, and it's not just in Florida,

39
00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,239
Speaker 1: though Florida is really close. Is the enormous turn to

40
00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,040
Speaker 1: mail in voting that really did not exist in two thousand.

41
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:21,240
Speaker 1: So part of the reason that this takes so long,

42
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,639
Speaker 1: um is that ballot continued ballots or cana to arrive

43
00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,920
Speaker 1: several days after election day that were legally postmarked on

44
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,160
Speaker 1: election day, and so those come in later. And then

45
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,359
Speaker 1: there are the close race, and then there are some

46
00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,720
Speaker 1: legitimate questions of perhabsentee ballots on signature matches, which I

47
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,680
Speaker 1: think is triggering some of the dispute. I want to

48
00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,520
Speaker 1: mention that Independence USA, a superpack funded by Michael Bloomberg,

49
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,639
Speaker 1: donated to the campaign of Democrat Andrew Gillham. Bloomberg is

50
00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,600
Speaker 1: the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent

51
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,560
Speaker 1: company of Bloomberg Radio, so which both Senate candidates have

52
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,000
Speaker 1: lawsuits pending, and just recently the Broward County Circuit Court

53
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,400
Speaker 1: judge said he don't issue an injunction that is being

54
00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,200
Speaker 1: sought by Rick Scott. Tell us what kind of an

55
00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,120
Speaker 1: effect an injunction would have had? Well, I think the

56
00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,919
Speaker 1: idea that was going to effect us sees the voting

57
00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,119
Speaker 1: machine sees the ballots and kind of frees the process.

58
00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,000
Speaker 1: And I think the by not granting an injunction right now,

59
00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,639
Speaker 1: it allows the process to go forward, which there are

60
00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:26,359
Speaker 1: seemed to be, you know, numerous races still at play

61
00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,000
Speaker 1: almost a week after the election. Now, Uh, is it

62
00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,200
Speaker 1: just my memory or is it more than usual? And

63
00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,920
Speaker 1: if so, why, Well? I think part of it is

64
00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,600
Speaker 1: what I was saying a second ago, which is the

65
00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:40,600
Speaker 1: rise of mail in ballots. I mean the states where

66
00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:46,880
Speaker 1: I think there's the most still out there, Uh, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, California,

67
00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,120
Speaker 1: California in the in the House races, Arizona in the Senate.

68
00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,040
Speaker 1: Our states which which are heavy users of mail in ballots,

69
00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,920
Speaker 1: which and again the deadline for those in some states

70
00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,320
Speaker 1: is typically is election day from it, but they can

71
00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 1: be postmarked in election day in some states, which means

72
00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,000
Speaker 1: they can come in several days later and so and

73
00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,120
Speaker 1: then and they're counted as they come in. There are

74
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,520
Speaker 1: military ballots that come in, and there are provisional ballots,

75
00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,480
Speaker 1: which is something that didn't exist in two thousand, where

76
00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,839
Speaker 1: if you are if you say that you're a registered voter,

77
00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:16,920
Speaker 1: but your name doesn't appear on the roles. You can

78
00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,720
Speaker 1: fill out a provisional ballot and then come back later

79
00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,840
Speaker 1: and have it checked to see whether you were or

80
00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,440
Speaker 1: were not a registered voter. And so I think the

81
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,280
Speaker 1: combination of the regular classical election day voting with a

82
00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,560
Speaker 1: lot of of of mail in voting and other kinds

83
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,640
Speaker 1: of votes that come in late has what plus really

84
00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,920
Speaker 1: tight elections is what tends to stretch this out. Rich

85
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 1: Let's talk a little bit about Georgia, because Stacey Abrams

86
00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,560
Speaker 1: filed a federal lawsuit yesterday asking a judge to delay

87
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:52,040
Speaker 1: vote certifications in Georgia. Tell us what she's seeking there.

88
00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,080
Speaker 1: I mean, she's had a lot of complaints about the

89
00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,640
Speaker 1: voting process since the beginning, right, I mean again, as

90
00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,120
Speaker 1: it recalled, before the election, there were issues about of

91
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,960
Speaker 1: a delay in a sort of transmitting registrations um to

92
00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,000
Speaker 1: to polling places. I think again it's a part of

93
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,400
Speaker 1: the problem, I think is with signature matches. There were

94
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,400
Speaker 1: issues with signature matches before the election. Again, people who

95
00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,440
Speaker 1: mail in the ballots, particularly first time mail in voters. Uh,

96
00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,719
Speaker 1: there there has to be a match of the signature

97
00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,200
Speaker 1: which is on the outside of the ballot with the

98
00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,640
Speaker 1: signature they have in the Central Registry or their their

99
00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,760
Speaker 1: official registered signature. And I think some of the disputes

100
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,600
Speaker 1: some ballots have been have been turned down on the

101
00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,279
Speaker 1: theory that they didn't match, and I think she her

102
00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,560
Speaker 1: argument is to make sure that every is to have

103
00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,960
Speaker 1: a kind of a complete review of the propriety of

104
00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,800
Speaker 1: the matching, so that no ballots that should have been

105
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,080
Speaker 1: counted are not counted. She also has a related issue,

106
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,920
Speaker 1: as you know, uh in Georgia, in order to win,

107
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,039
Speaker 1: you've got to get plus one. So although it seems unlikely,

108
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,119
Speaker 1: you know that she can actually catch up to Camp

109
00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,359
Speaker 1: right now. If she can get enough votes that he

110
00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:01,839
Speaker 1: falls below plus one to forty nine, there will be

111
00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,200
Speaker 1: a runoff. It would be a second round election between

112
00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,920
Speaker 1: her and him. I assume some time in December. I

113
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,599
Speaker 1: just want to update our listeners to some breaking news

114
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,800
Speaker 1: on the Bloomberg terminal. The president President Trump via Twitter

115
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,000
Speaker 1: saying today that Saudi Arabia and OPEC should not cut

116
00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,480
Speaker 1: oil production. Rich back to the election, How long could

117
00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,200
Speaker 1: some of these contests be drawn out? Well, um, there

118
00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,920
Speaker 1: are each of these states has deadlines for final submissions.

119
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,440
Speaker 1: In the Florida one, as soon, But if they continue

120
00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,640
Speaker 1: to be disputive about how the county was done, they

121
00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,360
Speaker 1: could be subject to lawsuits. I mean, um famously or notoriously.

122
00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,560
Speaker 1: The Minnesota Center race from two thousand two eight, I

123
00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,800
Speaker 1: think that took almost six months till it wrapped up.

124
00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,440
Speaker 1: That was unusually wildly long. I don't expect any of

125
00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,840
Speaker 1: these things to run that long, but it could take

126
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,279
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks until everything is is truly finally resolved.

127
00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:59,480
Speaker 1: These are close elections, right, It's it's fascinating and whoever

128
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,440
Speaker 1: thought we've be going through this again? Thanks so much,

129
00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,560
Speaker 1: rich that's Richard for a Faulties professor at Columbia Law School.

130
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,400
Speaker 1: After President Trump appointed Matt Whittaker as acting Attorney General,

131
00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,400
Speaker 1: Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee,

132
00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,400
Speaker 1: issued a warning about the potential consequences for the Muller probe.

133
00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:26,480
Speaker 1: He's already opined both in writing and verbally on the

134
00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,920
Speaker 1: Muller investigation, so he based on just legal LIFEX, he

135
00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,560
Speaker 1: should recuse himself from any oversight. But over the weekend,

136
00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,880
Speaker 1: Bloomberg reported that Whittaker will not cut the budget for

137
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,080
Speaker 1: Mueller's investigation. Joining me is Jeffrey Kramer, a former federal

138
00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,520
Speaker 1: prosecutor and managing director at the Berkeley Research Group Jeff

139
00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,400
Speaker 1: Not only has Whittaker been an outspoken critic of the

140
00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,640
Speaker 1: Mueller investigation, but he has said that Marlbury versus Madison

141
00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,520
Speaker 1: was incorrectly decided and that the courts are an inferior

142
00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:03,280
Speaker 1: branch of government. What's your reaction to his appointment? Well,

143
00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,440
Speaker 1: there's lots on I think, uh, I think my reactions

144
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,360
Speaker 1: is probably consistent with a lot of what maybe some

145
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,880
Speaker 1: of my former colleagues have written and discussed. There's a

146
00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,560
Speaker 1: couple of levels. One can he take over the Department

147
00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,480
Speaker 1: of Justice constitutionally? Um? He has not been confirmed by

148
00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,720
Speaker 1: the Senate for this role, although he was confirmed as

149
00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,720
Speaker 1: the U s Attorney in Iowa, but that was what

150
00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,040
Speaker 1: called an inferior position, if you will. In other words,

151
00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,320
Speaker 1: doesn't report directly to the president. Although he's an interim

152
00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,120
Speaker 1: there's really no emergency here that lawrants that when you

153
00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,880
Speaker 1: do have two people Rosenstein as well as the Slicitor

154
00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,120
Speaker 1: General who have been confirmed. That's the first layer. The

155
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,280
Speaker 1: second layer is more an more problematic, but it is

156
00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:50,319
Speaker 1: certainly an issue is can he take over the Mueller investigation. UM.

157
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,439
Speaker 1: And that gets to a host of issues, including conflicts

158
00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:58,079
Speaker 1: of interest as well as press where his loyalties lie. So, Jeff,

159
00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,559
Speaker 1: can the internal ethics depart at the Justice Department, the

160
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,000
Speaker 1: same department that told Jeff Sessions he should recuse himself

161
00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,760
Speaker 1: from the Muller investigation? Can it just start an inquiry

162
00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,400
Speaker 1: on Whittaker's possible conflicts of interest? Or doesn't have to

163
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,439
Speaker 1: be a request from a specific person or department. Usually

164
00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,480
Speaker 1: there has to be a request of the ethics area.

165
00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,360
Speaker 1: Now the Inspector General can look at it, but there's

166
00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,360
Speaker 1: no reason for him to do that yet. No action

167
00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,880
Speaker 1: has been taken by Whittaker. UM. You know, so while

168
00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:29,839
Speaker 1: the ethics officer can opine, it usually comes in after

169
00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,920
Speaker 1: someone requests and ethics opinion. UM. Now again, as it

170
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,320
Speaker 1: stands now, Mr Whittaker, he can do what he wants.

171
00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,480
Speaker 1: The ethics opinion is just that it's an opinion. It

172
00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:43,640
Speaker 1: doesn't have the force of law, UM and other courts.

173
00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:45,840
Speaker 1: You know, there may be a court case to UH

174
00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,120
Speaker 1: to compel him to stand down from this, but it

175
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,199
Speaker 1: really is problematic. No action has been taken yet. But

176
00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,280
Speaker 1: the issue is we don't know if any action will

177
00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,480
Speaker 1: be taken. It's easy to slow walk something at the

178
00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,000
Speaker 1: Department of Justice. I don't spect an edict to come

179
00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:05,199
Speaker 1: out firing Muller, but you can certainly slow walk things.

180
00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,400
Speaker 1: So none of this is news, I would imagine to

181
00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,480
Speaker 1: Mr Muller. So we don't know whether there were already

182
00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,520
Speaker 1: cases in the hopper. They could be sealed, there already

183
00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,560
Speaker 1: could be grand jury testimony taken obviously on some items.

184
00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,280
Speaker 1: But we are in uncharted waters. H And as you correctly,

185
00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,040
Speaker 1: you know, indicating your first question. With a man that

186
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,160
Speaker 1: doesn't even believe in the concept of constitutional review by

187
00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,679
Speaker 1: the judiciary, this is a strange one. Now let's talk

188
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,360
Speaker 1: a little bit just about Mueller and his being very

189
00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,280
Speaker 1: aware of what's going on at all times and from

190
00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,079
Speaker 1: all accounts, a very very smart prosecutor. There has been

191
00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:46,600
Speaker 1: speculation that he might actually have sealed grand jury indictments already.

192
00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,160
Speaker 1: If he wants to unseal those, does he have to

193
00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:55,360
Speaker 1: get Whittaker's approval for that? I would say no. However,

194
00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,240
Speaker 1: you can make an argument on the other side, because

195
00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,480
Speaker 1: any time the UH Special Council takes UH any action

196
00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,480
Speaker 1: of a certain level and certainly indicting somebody would be

197
00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,800
Speaker 1: that it has to be approved right now by the Dag,

198
00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,840
Speaker 1: the dept Attorney General. Maybe it's Whittaker. I think the

199
00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,440
Speaker 1: exception might be is, as you indicated, if it's already

200
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,199
Speaker 1: been voted on by the Grand Jury and the courts

201
00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,520
Speaker 1: have it is just sealed, I think logic would dictate

202
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,880
Speaker 1: that's probably out of the scope of of Mr Whittaker

203
00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,079
Speaker 1: or even the deput Attorney General at this point. It's

204
00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,920
Speaker 1: a fate, a complete if it's with the courts. So,

205
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,600
Speaker 1: speaking of slow walking things in the Justice Department, would

206
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,000
Speaker 1: mother be wise to slow walk his report until there's

207
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,199
Speaker 1: another Attorney General appointed, until there's a permanent Attorney General appointed,

208
00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,720
Speaker 1: so that something will be it won't be squashed. You know.

209
00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:47,680
Speaker 1: Maybe the problem is you don't know what's coming down

210
00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,880
Speaker 1: the park. We don't know if Mr Whittaker will stay

211
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,520
Speaker 1: in charge of the investigation. We don't know if there's

212
00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:58,800
Speaker 1: a new Attorney General who would be confirmed by the Senate.

213
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,760
Speaker 1: Now a Republican majority sid obviously after the election and

214
00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,400
Speaker 1: they've increased by a vote, you don't know who that's

215
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:05,960
Speaker 1: going to be. So I don't know if it gets

216
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,040
Speaker 1: any better for Mr Mueller the differences you now will

217
00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,040
Speaker 1: have in a few months. A Democratic House of Representatives

218
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,040
Speaker 1: who could simply call Mr Mueller in to testify as

219
00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,400
Speaker 1: a witness, and what do you find, um, So, you know,

220
00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:23,640
Speaker 1: does that bypass the requirements under special Council to pass

221
00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:26,800
Speaker 1: everything by the supervisor, which again is either the Deputy

222
00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,360
Speaker 1: Attorney General or Mr Whittaker, depending who you ask. I

223
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,439
Speaker 1: don't even think the White House has been clear as

224
00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,960
Speaker 1: to what they expect Mr Whittaker. I think they just

225
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,120
Speaker 1: put him there just in case as a stop gap.

226
00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,320
Speaker 1: He hasn't had to do anything yet, hasn't had to

227
00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,680
Speaker 1: make any decisions yet, at least overtly, but that could

228
00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:46,240
Speaker 1: change tomorrow. No one has really been talking about the

229
00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,520
Speaker 1: effect on the people within the Justice Department who are

230
00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:54,920
Speaker 1: career Justice Department employees, and you know, moving Whittaker in

231
00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,400
Speaker 1: ahead of Rod Rosenstein and some of the other things

232
00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,120
Speaker 1: that are going on, is that going to have an

233
00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:05,839
Speaker 1: effect on morale? That's a great question. At the at

234
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,720
Speaker 1: the U. S. Attorney level a little bit, But for

235
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,120
Speaker 1: the most part, the you know, the ninety semite offices

236
00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,560
Speaker 1: of the U. S. Attorneys just focus on what's going

237
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,240
Speaker 1: on in their jurisdiction. But it would be nice to

238
00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,560
Speaker 1: think that there's not something with respect to having a

239
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,440
Speaker 1: leader you can respect, having an attorney general that sets

240
00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,040
Speaker 1: the tone, and that is certainly not the case now

241
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,800
Speaker 1: and it probably wasn't under Sessions as well. Within main justice.

242
00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:31,719
Speaker 1: You know, the people who work in the Department of

243
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,840
Speaker 1: Justice in the Beltway, Uh, that's probably more chaotic because

244
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,600
Speaker 1: they don't know if he's going to stay. They don't

245
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:39,760
Speaker 1: know if he's allowed to stay, they don't know the

246
00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,319
Speaker 1: parameters of his responsibility. While he was a U S

247
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:47,240
Speaker 1: attorney in in Iowa, that was a political placement by

248
00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:49,840
Speaker 1: the senator there. He has never been a prosecutor, a

249
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:53,800
Speaker 1: ligne prosecutor before. He's just kind of, you know, living

250
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,640
Speaker 1: a life and getting picked to be put in certain places.

251
00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,760
Speaker 1: Not because he's a very good prosecutor. He hasn't done

252
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,240
Speaker 1: the job. It's just he's gotten the political juice, if

253
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,599
Speaker 1: you will. It was chief of staff and all of

254
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,040
Speaker 1: a sudden he's acting Attorney General. It's it's an amazing

255
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,720
Speaker 1: feat on his partner. It's certainly it's so murky this area.

256
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,440
Speaker 1: It's hard to have any clear defined answers, But we

257
00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,640
Speaker 1: continue talking about it and trying to figure out what

258
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,320
Speaker 1: what is happening behind the scenes. Thanks so much, it's

259
00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,920
Speaker 1: great to have you on. Jeff. That's Jeff grame, reason

260
00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:28,600
Speaker 1: former federal prosecutor, and he's managing director at the Berkeley

261
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,280
Speaker 1: Research Group. Thanks for listening to the Bloomberg Law Podcast.

262
00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,720
Speaker 1: You can subscribe and listen to the show on Apple podcast, SoundCloud,

263
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,680
Speaker 1: and on bloomberg dot com slash podcast. I'm June Brasso.

264
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:42,440
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg