WASHINGTON – Matthew Whitaker, who was named interim attorney general Wednesday after Jeff Sessions was fired, argued two years ago that Hillary Clinton should have been criminally charged.

In an opinion piece for USA TODAY, Whitaker disagreed with then-FBI Director James Comey that "no reasonable prosecutor" would indict Clinton for handling classified documents as secretary of State on a private email server.

"I believe myself to have been a reasonable prosecutor, and when the facts and evidence show a criminal violation has been committed, the individuals involved should not dictate whether the case is prosecuted," wrote Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney.

He penned the piece while serving as executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a conservative watchdog group.

Read the op-ed piece:

I would indict Hillary Clinton: Opposing view

A legal commentator on CNN for four months in 2017 before joining the Justice Department, Whitaker also wrote a column for CNN in August 2017 that said Trump was right to question special counsel Robert Mueller looking at the finances of the Trump Organization or the president’s family.

“The President is absolutely correct,” Whitaker wrote. “Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pointed to Whitaker's past comments to argue he should recuse himself from overseeing Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, a probe Trump has called a "witch hunt."

“Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general," Schumer said.

Similarly, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who is likely to become head of the Judiciary Committee as Democrats gain control of the House next year, called it "wholly inappropriate" for Whitaker to supervise the special counsel investigation "given his documented history of opposition to it." Nadler said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should continue to oversee Mueller.

Until Wednesday, Whitaker was Sessions' chief of staff and had been considered for a variety of jobs in the Trump administration, including the No. 2 post at Justice or as White House counsel.

Contributing: Bart Jansen and Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY.

More:Read Jeff Sessions' resignation letter: 'Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President'

More:Jeff Sessions is out as attorney general: Here's what we know

More:Mitch McConnell warns Democrats against 'harassment' of Donald Trump