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Posted: 2019-02-08T23:25:01Z | Updated: 2019-02-08T23:25:01Z

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on Friday that nothing corrupt occurred when the Department of Justice suddenly changed an eight-year-old legal interpretation in a way that clearly benefited President Donald Trump s biggest political donor, casino oligarch Sheldon Adelson .

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) asked Whitaker whether he was involved in the January decision of the DOJs Office of Legal Counsel to alter an established legal interpretation of the Federal Wire Act in order to further limit online gambling and whether he had any communications with Adelson or any of the billionaires lobbyists. The new opinion reversed a 2011 OLC interpretation of the act that had applied a prohibition on online gambling strictly to online betting on sports. State officials fear that the expanded ban could imperil their online gaming industries and even negatively impact the administration of state lotteries.

Whitaker said that he was not involved in the decision and that he has never personally met with or spoken to Adelson.

Your inference that somehow that process was corrupted or corrupt is absolutely wrong and the premise of your question I reject, the acting attorney general said.

Raskin was not satisfied with Whitakers answers. The congressman and constitutional law professor told HuffPost that he would submit more questions to Whitaker about the OLC interpretation after Fridays hearing.

This definitely bears further investigation, Raskin said. When and where and by whom remains to be seen.