President Trump offered a series of lies to reporters Friday morning as he was leaving the White House and heading to Paris for a WWI commemoration.
One of his most significant false claims is that he does not know Matthew Whitaker, Jeff Sessions' chief of staff, whom Trump personally picked to replace the attorney general he forced to resign. By all accounts, Whitaker and the president have a relationship.
Trump many weeks ago talked with Whitaker about replacing Sessions as the attorney general, and Sessions was surprised when the discussion was reported in The Washington Post and felt it left his relationship with Whitaker bruised, a person familiar with the matter said.
Whitaker initially expected to replace Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.
New York Times (9-26-18):
Matthew G. Whitaker, the chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, would become the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department, his White House counterpart, John F. Kelly, told him over the phone on Saturday morning, according to two people briefed on the call. To the White House, he was an obvious choice: a confident former college football player and United States attorney whom Mr. Kelly has privately described as the West Wing’s “eyes and ears” in a department the president has long considered at war with him.
(...)
[Whitaker] has frequently visited the Oval Office and is said to have an easy chemistry with Mr. Trump. On Monday morning, Mr. Trump himself called Mr. Whitaker, not with an explicit job offer but a reassurance that he has faith in him.
Administration officials have also mentioned Mr. Whitaker as a possible successor to Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel who plans to leave in the fall.
(...)
... according to two White House officials, Mr. Trump took a liking to Mr. Whitaker, who has the sort of commanding bearing that the president likes.
(...)
In meetings in the Oval Office, West Wing officials said, Mr. Whitaker has spoken bluntly and authoritatively about prison overhaul, an issue embraced by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Mr. Whitaker has told the president that federal prosecutors would oppose some of the measures under discussion, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
CBS News (10-11-18):
The president did not comment on Sessions' future; he has long berated his attorney general publicly and even said he has no attorney general. But he did say he likes Sessions' chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, after the Post reported Wednesday night that Mr. Trump spoke with Whittaker about having him take Sessions' place.
"Well, I'd never talk about that, but I can tell you Matt Whitaker is a great guy," Mr. Trump said.
Trump says U.S.-Saudi relations are "excellent," doesn't want to stop arms sales (CBS News)
Matthew Whitaker, a Trump Loyalist, Is Seen as Ascendant Amid Rosenstein Chaos (NYT)