Protests in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago and other parts of the country erupted Thursday night as Americans called on their leaders to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe amid a major shakeup at the Department of Justice. The demonstrations follow President Donald Trump’s removal of Jeff Sessions as attorney general on Wednesday and his appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. Trump also tasked Whitaker with overseeing the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, thus removing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from the probe. The move places the investigation in jeopardy, as Whitaker has previously expressed deeply critical views of it and may seek to end it altogether. “We are in fact facing a countdown clock,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) at a demonstration in Chicago on Thursday.

Source: Huffington Post November 09, 2018 00:33 UTC