In August 2017, Matthew Whitaker wrote an op-ed for CNN titled “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far,” in which he argued President Donald Trump was “absolutely correct” when he said the special counsel would be crossing the line if he probed the Trump family’s finances as part of the Russia investigation.

Whitaker is now in line to oversee Robert Mueller’s investigation of Trump and those in his orbit. Trump, forcing out U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, named Whitaker the acting attorney general. Sessions, a top Trump campaign adviser, had recused from the Mueller investigation.