Even some conservative legal commentators have suggested his appointment was unconstitutional, and the state of Maryland is suing to that effect.
This was about as blatant a move to obstruct the investigation as the president could have made.
Whitaker has close ties to Sam Clovis, a grand-jury witness in the probe who advised him to start going on CNN to catch Trump's eye.
Matthew Whitaker, the Acting Attorney General of the United States Getty Images Steve Pope.
As first flagged by journalist Brian Beutler, Trump seized on a softball question to spill the beans on Whitaker's appointment.
Could you tell us where your thinking is currently on the attorney general position?
This is not the first time he's lied about knowing Whitaker since appointing him to, incredibly obviously, interfere in the Mueller investigation. »