AG Whitaker Backs Off Threat to Bail on House Judiciary Hearing, Will Appear on Friday Morning

After threatening to pull out of his scheduled testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Friday, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has backed off, and will appear at 9:30 a.m.

The Justice Deparment informed the House Judiciary that Whitaker would not appear unless given written assurance that he would not be subpoenaed. Earlier Thursday, the Committee had voted to authorize a subpoena in the event Whitaker skipped out on his appearance, or ducked questions.

After Whitaker’s decree, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) — who chairs the House Judiciary — penned a letting to the acting attorney general in an effort to assuage his concerns.

“If you appear before the committee tomorrow morning and if you are prepared to respond to questions from our Members, then I assure you there will be no need for Committee to issue a subpoena on or before February 8,” Nadler wrote. “To the extent that you believe you are unable to respond to any specific question, we are prepared to handle your concerns on a case-by-case basis, both during and after tomorrow’s hearing.”

My response to Acting AG Whitaker regarding the use of a subpoena for tomorrow's @HouseJudiciary hearing. pic.twitter.com/x6whDtaVX8

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) February 7, 2019

The chairman’s letter evidently alleviated Whitaker’s concerns, as Nadler subsequently announced that the testimony will proceed as scheduled.

CONFIRMED: Acting Attorney General Whitaker will appear tomorrow morning at 9:30am. https://t.co/dIuVOJt1G9

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) February 8, 2019

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