Greg Katsas Grilled Over White House Counsel Role

Greg Katsas.
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One of President Donald Trump's top judicial nominees faced a bevy of questions Tuesday over his involvement as a White House lawyer with some of the administration's most controversial programs, in addition to special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.

Greg Katsas, the deputy White House counsel whom Trump nominated to be a judge on the powerful DC Circuit Court of Appeals, told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing that he worked on the White House's response to Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference. He also said he was involved with work on controversial policies and initiatives that could well end up before the court he is tapped to possibly sit on in some form. Those policies include the travel ban, the voter fraud commission, and the decision to phase out protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for young undocumented immigrants.

Those issues caused some to wonder just how independent Katsas, who served in the Trump administration since January, could be when faced with cases involving the Trump administration. Katsas said he would recuse himself from matters related to Mueller's investigation that he personally worked on, but did not commit to a recusal for all potential cases stemming from the Mueller probe, saying he would consider the facts of the case before making a decision.

During an exchange with Democratic http://www.luatsuhcm.vn/danh-muc/tin-tuc-phap-luat/ Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking hỏi đáp pháp luật member of the committee, Katsas said he has "given legal advice on a few discrete legal questions arising out of the" Mueller investigation.

"I have no knowledge of any underlying facts regarding Russian interference," he added.