WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday defended the legality of President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after critics called the move unlawful, asserting that he has the authority to replace the fired Jeff Sessions outside of the department's usual line of succession.
The 20-page legal opinion, sent to the White House by the department's Office of Legal Counsel, rejected the view of Democrats and other critics that Trump overstepped his constitutional authority and broke federal law by naming Whitaker as the chief U.S. law enforcement official.