Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was asked to clarify his responses to questions about his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Congress Nadler wants Whitaker to 'clarify' his testimony

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pressed acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Wednesday to clarify his recent testimony, after Nadler and his panel found that Whitaker’s responses were “unsatisfactory, incomplete or contradicted by other evidence.”

“You repeatedly refused to offer clear responses regarding your communications with the White House, and you were inconsistent in your application of the Department’s policy related to the discussion of ongoing investigations,” Nadler wrote in his letter , referring to the Justice Department.


The New York Democrat’s request includes the possibility that the Judiciary Committee could have direct evidence indicating that Whitaker lied during his testimony.

This point is specifically addressed when Nadler writes of Whitaker’s answers to questions about whether or not he spoke with President Donald Trump about the decision by Michael Cohen, the president’s former longtime lawyer and fixer, to plead guilty in federal court to lying to Congress and violating campaign finance law by arranging hush money payments on Trump’s behalf.

“Your testimony on this topic is directly contradicted by several media reports,” Nadler writes of Whitaker’s answers to questions about Trump and Cohen.

The Judiciary Committee, Nadler continues, “has identified several individuals with direct knowledge of the phone calls you denied receiving from the White House.”

The Justice Department on Wednesday evening declined to comment on Nadler’s letter.

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Whitaker is the first Trump Cabinet official to testify before the newly empowered House Democrats. His combative exchanges last week with Democratic members on the panel, including Nadler himself, are viewed as a possible preview of how the White House will handle similar requests for top officials to testify on Capitol Hill.

Nadler would also like Whitaker to clarify his responses to questions about his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which he now oversees after taking over those duties from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and whether or not he has told White House officials about his views.

“You later admitted to speaking to White House officials while ‘interviewing for the position that was ultimately occupied by Ty Cobb’—a position dedicated to managing the President’s official response to the Special Counsel’s investigation—but claimed, somewhat incredulously [sic], that you never mentioned your ‘opinions about the Mueller investigation’ over the course of those discussions,” Nadler writes.

Before joining the Justice Department as Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff, Whitaker made repeated public statements questioning the need for Mueller’s inquiry, a point that Democrats have seized on since he was named to lead the Justice Department on an interim basis after Trump fired Sessions in November.

Whitaker’s testimony before the committee was initially in flux because of a fight over whether or not he would be subpoenaed to appear. In a possible nod to future tensions, Nadler concludes his letter by saying that he would like the acting attorney general’s staff to work with his to clarify Whitaker’s testimony in the “coming days.” The chairman vowed to pursue other options if not.

“Failing [talks to clarify Whitaker’s responses], we would expect to pursue a date and time for a formal deposition,” Nadler wrote.