Article snippet: New MORE's Russia investigation due to conflicts of interest. Since Whitaker's appointment last Wednesday, Democrats have called on him to recuse himself from the Russia probe, citing his public comments criticizing Mueller. Whitaker once declared there "no collusion" between MORE and Moscow and said the special counsel's investigation was a waste of time that could be undercut by denying it funding. "Acting Attorney General the Associated Press and CBS News. The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Whitaker once publicly suggested that the attorney general could cut funding in order to stifle Mueller's investigation, but Bloomberg reported Sunday Whitaker has told associates in recent days that he has no plans to slash Mueller's budget. Trump, who has publicly criticized Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt" for over a year, appointed Whitaker to oversee the probe last week after firing former Attorney General MORE, whose own recusal from the Russian investigation infuriated the president. Trump has repeatedly said he wouldn't have chosen Sessions from the job if he'd known he was going to step away from the matter. Democrats have threatened to subpoena Whitaker and withhold key votes in the House if Republicans do not take action to protect Mueller. Democratic leaders on Sunday sent a letter requesting a formal update from the DOJ's ethics office on whether Whitaker should recuse himself from overseeing the investigation. "The... Link to the full article to read more