Why People are Protesting Matthew Whitaker’s Appointment | WHIP News Crackdown

CRACKDOWN VIDEO ESSAY SPECIAL, CONTRIBUTED BY ANTHONY PEARSON & JULIUS TOTH

FRIDAY 11/9 | On this special episode of the WHIP Weekly News Crackdown, we ignore the midterms, campus news, and everything else we were going to cover this week. Instead, we’re focusing on President Trump’s effective firing of now-former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the appointment of Matthew Whitaker in his place. This decision has kicked off protests in major cities across the nation, and understanding why it has received such a heavy reaction takes a bit of explanation.

This topic is a bit too important to blow in a two paragraph news blurb – so on this WHIP News Crackdown, we wade in deep: Why has the replacement of AG Jeff Sessions caused so much outrage? What is the Russia probe and why do many argue for its protection and independence? What do we actually know about the Trump campaign’s ties to the Russian government, and what is at stake?

Attributions

Thumbnail: Gage Skidmore on Flickr, Licensed under terms of CC-by-SA-2.0

Music: Sleeper, BG5, and UJO by [JCM] Canada

Sources Referenced

• MBFC | Tool for verifying source reputation for bias and factual reporting

1. BBC | Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions
2. Business Insider | Justice Department Confirms Jeff Sessions’ Replacement will Take Over the Mueller Probe
3. The Guardian | Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself from Russia Inquiry
4. NY Times | Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Hired Sessions
5. CNN/Whitaker | Opinion: Mueller’s Investigation of Trump is Going too Far
6. Time | President Trump’s Pick to Replace Jeff Sessions Suggested Cutting Off Robert Mueller’s Funding
7. WaPo | Sessions’s Ouster Throws Future of Special Counsel Probe into Question
8. BBC | Trump Russia Affair Key Questions Answered
9. Reuters | Senate Panel Backs Intelligence Agencies on Russia-Trump Conclusions
10. Politico | 6 Key Findings from Papadopoulos’ Guilty Plea in Russia Probe
11. NY Times | Trump’s Son Met with Russian Lawyer After Being Promised Damaging Information on Clinton
12. AXIOS | The Shifting Stories on the Trump Tower Meeting
13. WaPo | Congress to Ease Russia Sanctions Amid Clamor for Tougher Measures
14. NY Times | Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the FBI
15. WaPo | In Matthew Whitaker, Trump has a Loyalist at the Helm of the Justice Department
16. Acting attorney general Whitaker has no intention of recusing himself from Russia probe, associates say