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Brett Talley, that massively unqualified and hugely politically extreme judicial nominee who the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted for unanimously last week? The one who has never ever argued a case in a court of law and who pledged his loyalty to the NRA just weeks after the Sandy Hook massacre?
There's another little problem with his nomination. He didn't disclose on his Senate questionnaire that his wife, Ann Donaldson, is the chief of staff to the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II.
Mr. Talley was asked on his publicly released Senate questionnaire to identify family members and others who are "likely to present potential conflicts of interest." He did not mention his wife. […]
Mr. Talley also did not mention his wife when he described his frequent contact with White House lawyers during the nomination process.
The conflict of interest problem comes in because district courts are the first to hear challenges against a presidential administration, like the challenges to Trump's travel ban. So that's kind of an issue. There's another one. The White House counsel's office—where Donaldson is the chief of staff—is the office in charge of picking judicial nominees. How convenient for Mr. Talley.
As if that's not enough:
Ms. Donaldson has emerged in recent weeks as a witness in the special counsel's investigation into whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. She was interviewed by investigators recently about her detailed notes about conversations with Mr. McGahn on topics including the firing of the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.
She's neck deep in an obstruction of justice investigation! A pair worthy of their benefactor. This nomination needs to be withdrawn. Senate Democrats need to be very loud in demanding so.