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The fourth of popular vote loser Donald Trump's judicial nominees to be rated "not qualified" by the American Bar Association is a real doozy. He's so bad, even Republicans should be ashamed that they even accepted this nomination. But they didn't only accept it, they approved it in the Judiciary Committee last week. They approved it despite the fact that the 36-year-old lawyer—Brett Talley—has never been before a court, arguing a case. That's just the beginning of this horror show.
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking member of the committee, asked if Mr. Talley had ever argued a motion in Federal District Court, given that he had never tried a case. He had not.
Ms. Feinstein also pointed to Mr. Talley's prolific social media presence before his nomination. He once referred to Hillary Clinton as "Hillary Rotten Clinton" on his public Twitter account, which is now private.
In 2013, he wrote on his blog that armed revolution was an important defense against tyrannical government. Ms. Feinstein asked in her written questions when Mr. Talley believed it would become appropriate for American citizens to participate in an armed uprising against the government.
He replied that he did not believe any situation in American history—with the "possible exception" of slavery—had called for armed rebellion.
Uh-huh. Nice save. This is a seat in Alabama, however, so exactly which side he’d take up arms on the slavery question is unsure. But it gets much, much more deplorable. About a month after the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 schoolchildren, Talley pledged on his blog "his total support to the National Rifle Association, 'financially, politically and intellectually.'" Feinstein asked if, given this public pledge to the NRA whether Talley would commit to recusing himself from gun cases. He refused.
And still he was approved unanimously by committee Republicans, including Sens Ben Sasse (R-NE) and and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Yeah, the same Sasse and Flake who love to talk about how they're not Trump Republicans. Because they're a-okay with having this 36-year-old on the court for the next generation. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) will undoubtedly join in when his nomination hits the Senate floor. If you live in Maine, or Alaska, or Nebraska, or Arizona—call your senators, 202-224-3121. Let them know you're watching.
Monday, Nov 13, 2017 · 5:19:46 PM +00:00
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Joan McCarter
Well, here’s a new wrinkle on the whole thing.
One of President Trump’s most controversial judicial nominees did not disclose on publicly available congressional documents that he is married to a senior lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office.
The nominee, Brett J. Talley, is awaiting a Senate confirmation vote that could come as early as Monday to become a federal district judge in Alabama. He is married to Ann Donaldson, the chief of staff to the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II.
This is a potential conflict of interest. District court judges are usually the first to hear challenges against White House actions—we saw it most recently with the suits against Trump’s travel ban. What else has Talley been keeping secret from the Senate?