Trump: I Don’t Know Whitaker. Trump: I Know Whitaker

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President Trump went out of his way on Friday to distance himself from Matthew G. Whitaker, his choice to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general, saying repeatedly that he did not know Mr. Whitaker and had not spoken to him and emphasizing that the new attorney general was merely “there in an acting position.”

“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. But the president stressed that he did know Mr. Whitaker’s reputation well, calling him “a very respected man.”

The faint presidential praise came just two days after Mr. Trump unceremoniously dumped Mr. Sessions, putting Mr. Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department and the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since then, criticism has mounted about Mr. Whitaker’s lack of credentials to be the nation’s top law enforcement official, along with allegations that he has conflicts of interest that should keep him from overseeing the Russia inquiry.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber’s top Democrat, sent a letter to Mr. Trump on Friday saying that the appointment of Mr. Whitaker, who was chief of staff to Mr. Sessions, was unconstitutional.

“I am not aware of any precedent for appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting attorney general,” Mr. Schumer wrote...

In addition, the president’s claim that he did not know Mr. Whitaker was called into question by Mr. Trump’s own words from just about a month ago, when he said in a “Fox & Friends” interview: “I can tell you Matt Whitaker’s a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.”

Mr. Whitaker has also visited the Oval Office several times and is said to have an easy chemistry with the president, according to people familiar with the relationship. And the president has regarded Mr. Whitaker as his eyes and ears at the Justice Department.

Mr. Whitaker has publicly sided with Mr. Trump in saying that the investigation led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is an overreach. That has raised questions about what changes Mr. Whitaker could make to Mr. Mueller’s mandate, particularly changes that might benefit Mr. Trump.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also wants to know what impact Mr. Whitaker will have on the investigation. On Friday, the court requested a report from both the Justice Department and the Mueller team “addressing what, if any, effect” Mr. Whitaker’s appointment has on the case, which was previously being overseen by Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general...

In August, when the relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions hit a low point and the two men exchanged a rare public tit-for-tat, Mr. Whitaker attended a meeting on prison overhaul with both of them later that day.

Yet, on Friday morning, Mr. Trump said four times that he did not know Mr. Whitaker...

“No matter who I put in, they go after him,” Mr. Trump said of his appointees. “It’s very sad.”

Whatever happens, whatever orders Trump directs his gofer Whitaker to perpetrate, the truth will still emerge one way or another. Mueller knows too much, and Trump's efforts to silence him won't damage Mueller's impeccable credibility nor erase the knowledge Mueller's careful investigation has accumulated. Mueller knows too much now. Truth will out.

Trump's primary motivation at the moment is (I think) panic that little Donny may be criminally indicted. Whitaker's appointment seems a calculated attempt to obstruct this possibility by any means, which may make both him and Trump criminally liable.

It may all explode in Trump's face in surprising ways.