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- The interim appointment of a man unknown and unqualified, except for his open loyalty to the president, to one of the top law enforcement jobs in the federal government has happened before.
- In May 1972, President Richard Nixon elevated Patrick Gray III to the directorship of the FBI a month before the Watergate burglars were apprehended in the DNC offices.
- However, the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general is slightly different as Gray was not appointed in the midst of an investigation that threatened to reach inside the Oval Office.
- The timing and possible duration of Whitaker’s appointment give the acting attorney general maximum opportunity to wreak havoc.
It has happened before: the interim appointment of a man unknown and unqualified, except for his open loyalty to the president, to one of the top law enforcement jobs in the federal government.
It was May 1972 when President Richard Nixon abruptly elevated Patrick Gray III, a Justice Department official as colorless as his name, to the directorship of the FBI following the sudden death of J. Edgar Hoover. The announcement came as a shock.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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