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Popular vote loser Donald Trump sure knows how to pick them. The latest Trump nominee for the federal courts—approved unanimously by Judiciary Committee Republicans, by the way—is turning out to be so bad, even Trump might have to give up on him. We met Brett Talley, nominated for the district court in (where else) Alabama, last week when he was approved on a party line vote by committee despite the fact that he's never argued a case in court. Then we found out that he's been rather selective in the information he decided to share with the committee, leaving out the part where he is married to a White House lawyer who just happens to be chief of staff in the office that vets judicial nominees. How convenient for him.
Talley was really selective in the information he shared on his nomination questionnaire. For example, he was happy to disclose his ghost-hunting and horror-fiction writing sidelines.
On his questionnaire for the Senate Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was provided to The Daily Beast, Talley says that he was part of The Tuscaloosa Paranormal Research Group from 2009-2010. The group, according to its website, searches for the truth "of the paranormal existence" in addition to helping "those who may be living with paranormal activity that can be disruptive and/or traumatic."
Harmless enough, though perhaps not really what you'd expect of someone given the nod for a lifetime appointment on the federal judiciary. So while he put that on the questionnaire, stuff that might have been a little more relevant—like his political writing on sports blogs he left off. On a University of Alabama sports fan website, TideFans.com, there are posts going back years by user "BamainBoston" whose posts and biographical information align exactly with Talley's. One of the more enlightening posts from BamainBoston is on guns.
Talley's pledge of loyalty to the NRA in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre in which 20 young children were mowed down was disclosed previously. But BamainBoston posted the thinking behind it. "My solution," to gun violence he wrote, "would be to stop being a society of pansies and man up."
BamainBoston continued: "We shouldn't depend on the government to protect us. We should be ready to protect ourselves. Everyone should know that part of their social responsibility is to learn how to use a firearm effectively and carry one with them at all times. I know some of you will freak out at that suggestion, but the only law I can imagine that would have stopped what happened in Connecticut is if every one of the teachers was armed with a gun and trained in how to use it."
He also writes on immigration, surprisingly showing a degree of humanity that is astounding. "[T]he thought of the police breaking down the doors of otherwise law abiding citizens and dragging them out to be deported is horrible and un-American," he wrote. "The crime most of these people committed is wanting a better life." But that was in 2011, long before his connection to the Trump administration. If Talley had disclosed this writing, maybe the committee would have been able to find out how he felt about the issue now, given he'd certainly be faced with the possibility of ruling on it should he be confirmed.
That's nothing compared to the omission on the part of the questionnaire that asks the applicant to identify family members who are "likely to present potential conflicts of interest" and he didn't list his wife who is working as chief of staff to White House counsel Don McGahn. McGahn also happens to oversee the president's judicial nominations. Again, very convenient, and probably something that should have at least been mentioned by Talley.
Here's the kicker. Talley is also working in the Trump administration. He's deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. One of his job duties? To "vet judicial nominees and help them with their nomination paperwork." Kind of makes you wonder how much all the other Trump nominees have been advised to leave off their paperwork, doesn't it.