No one would ever accuse Donald Trump of nominating pro-LGBTQ judicial candidates, but one of his latest picks—for Utah’s federal district court—still stands out.
A report by Alliance for Justice found that Howard Nielson was representing the plaintiffs in Hollingsworth v. Perry, a 2013 case that would have banned same-sex marriage in California. As the case played out, Nielson filed a motion saying chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Vaughn Walker “had a duty to disclose not only the facts concerning his [same-sex] relationship, but also his marriage intentions.”
According to the organization, Nielson said it was “extremely problematic that Judge Walker is a practicing homosexual himself.”
Since the case was about same-sex marriage, Nielson argued that Walker, a Ronald Reagan appointee, could not be unbiased unless he did not intend to marry another man. He wrote that only if Walker had “unequivocally disavowed any interest in marrying his partner could the parties and the public be confident that he did not have a direct personal interest in the outcome," the Alliance cited.
The motion was rejected by another judge, but Nielson continued his tirade against the LGBT community by arguing that sexual orientation is a choice, opposing the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Lambda Legal has found that at least a third of Trump’s judicial nominees have a demonstrated anti-LGBTQ bias.
Nearly one-in-three have records that demonstrate hostility towards the rights of LGBT people. While several of these nominees are anti-LGBT activists who have openly denigrated LGBT people and families, others have more quietly undermined LGBT rights and protections.
The most flagrant of the anti-LGBTQ nominees, perhaps, was Jeff Mateer, who thinks transgender children are part of “Satan’s plan.”
"In Colorado, a public school has been sued because a first grader and I forget the sex, she's a girl who thinks she's a boy or a boy who thinks she's a girl, it's probably that, a boy who thinks she's a girl," Mateer said in a video posted on Vimeo in 2015 and reviewed by CNN's KFile. "And the school said, 'Well, she's not using the girl's restroom.' And so she has now sued to have a right to go in. Now, I submit to you, a parent of three children who are now young adults, a first grader really knows what their sexual identity? I mean it just really shows you how Satan's plan is working and the destruction that's going on."
While Trump ultimately ditched Mateer, the equally insidious Judge Leonard Steven Grasz was confirmed to the Eighth Circuit.
Grasz was rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association out of concern that he would be unable to be an impartial judge.
Lambda Legal said Grasz served as the board director of Nebraska Family Alliance, which opposed marriage equality, bans on conversion therapy and anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people.
Nielson and Trump share this notion that a judge is biased when either the issue or the parties before them are somehow connected to identity. Remember how Trump attacked the Mexican American judge hearing the Trump University case when it wasn’t going well for DJT?
TAPPER: What does this have to do with his heritage?
TRUMP: I'll tell you what it has to do. I've had ruling after ruling after ruling that's been bad rulings, OK? I've been treated very unfairly. Before him, we had another judge. If that judge was still there, this case would have been over two years ago.
Let me just tell you, I've had horrible rulings, I've been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I'm building a wall, OK? I'm building a wall. I am going to do very well with the Hispanics, the Mexicans —
After attacking the Mexican American judge, Trump boasted about how he’s “going to do very well with the Hispanics, the Mexicans.” Because Trump logic. Then he called for his recusal.
TAPPER: So, no Mexican judge could ever be involved in a case that involves you?
TRUMP: Well, he's a member of a society, where -- you know, very pro-Mexico, and that's fine. It's all fine, but --
TAPPER: Except that you're calling into question his heritage.
TRUMP: I think he should recuse himself.
When pushed, Trump made it very clear that his criticism was based on ethnic origin.
TAPPER: I don't care if you criticize him, that's fine. You can criticize every decision. What I'm saying, if you invoke his race as a reason why he can't do his job.
TRUMP: I think that's why he's doing it. I think that's why he's doing it.
If unchecked, Trump’s distorted view of the legal system and deplorable judicial picks could change the judiciary for a lifetime.