Dem Judiciary Rep. Raskin: We're 'Interested' in the Legal Rationale for Emergency Declaration

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” House Judiciary Committee member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) discussed the forthcoming testimony of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker before the committee and said that there is curiosity about the legal rationale for a potential national emergency declaration on the border by the president. Host Joy Reid asked, “What do you want to ask Mr. Whitaker?” Raskin responded, “Well, there’s so much we want to ask him about. Obviously, we want to make sure that we’re protecting the independence of the Mueller investigation and that there’s no political interference taking place to try to doctor the results or shield the results. But look, we oversee, not just the Justice Department, but justice. And we want to make sure that there’s some forward motion going in terms of justice in the country. The president now keeps threatening to declare an emergency. … And so, we’d be interested to know, what are the legal arguments for the president having powers that resemble, at least in sound, more like something you’d find in a banana republic than in American constitutional democracy?” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett