Article snippet: WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker insisted on Friday that he has not ‘‘interfered in any way’’ in the special counsel’s Russia investigation as he faced a contentious and partisan congressional hearing in his waning days on the job. ‘‘We have followed the special counsel’s regulations to a T,’’ Whitaker told the House Judiciary Committee. ‘‘There has been no event, no decision, that has required me to take any action, and I have not interfered in any way with the special counsel’s investigation.’’ He also said he had never discussed with the White House special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign. The hearing was the first, and likely only, chance for newly empowered Democrats in the majority to grill an attorney general they perceive as a Trump loyalist and whose appointment they suspect was aimed at suppressing investigations of the Republican president. Republicans made clear they viewed the hearing as pointless political grandstanding especially since Whitaker may have less than a week left as the country’s chief law enforcement officer. ‘‘I’m thinking maybe we just set up a popcorn machine in the back,’’ said Rep. Doug Collins, the committee’s top Republican. Collins, of Georgia, called it a ‘‘dog and pony’’ show and criticized Democrats for disclosing derogatory information about Whitaker’s business dealings hours before the hearing. Whitaker vented frust... Link to the full article to read more