To Trump, advising a fraudulent company isn't disqualifying for an attorney general

Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at a law enforcement conference in Des Moines on Nov. 14.

Nov. 16, 2018 3 AM PT

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To the editor: Andrew Coan is right: Matthew Whitaker is simply unqualified to be the United States’ acting attorney general.

That said, Coan’s piece did not mention one of Whitaker’s most glaring ethical failures: his work with the defunct business World Patent Marketing. He served as an advisory board member for the company, which had to pay a $26-million settlement to the federal government for scamming veterans and others.

As Coan notes, Trump makes appointments based on cable news appearances and personal connections. Yet again, personal greed is valued more than the public good in the Trump administration.

Ben LaZebnik, Studio City

To the editor: The L.A. Times is getting so outrageous and venomous in its anti-Trump hysteria that I can’t even get past the headlines.

Harriet Miers was selected by President George W. Bush for a position that required the advice and consent of the Senate — a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Whitaker is a temporary, place-holding, acting attorney general who, ultimately, serves at the pleasure of the president.

How dare you compare the two and mislead readers.

Stephany Yablow, North Hollywood

To the editor: Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president “shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States.”

Whitaker was not vetted or approved by the Senate and is therefore ineligible to serve as attorney general, temporary or not. The already Senate-approved deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, should be the acting attorney general until the president nominates and the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.

Whitaker should do more than recuse himself from the Russia investigation; he should resign.

John Gallogly, Los Angeles

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