In the interview, first reported by Mother Jones, Whitaker discussed the reports at the time that Trump had asked former FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Whitaker, then the head of a conservative nonprofit group, argued there was no case for obstruction of justice regardless of Trump’s motives because the president’s executive power enables him to make such calls.

In D.C., hundreds of people gathered in front of the White House to protest Whitaker’s appointment and defend the Mueller probe. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called the appointment “unconstitutional” while addressing the crowd.