“Unconscionable” that Judicial Confirmations Should Continue

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 22, 2018 – Following the guilty plea of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and Cohen’s implication of the President in felony campaign finance violations, as well as the conviction of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as a result of the ongoing Mueller probe, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:

“It’s unconscionable that amid this growing tsunami of corruption and legal jeopardy for the administration, that Donald Trump and Senate Republicans should even think about continuing to confirm federal judges. That includes the Eighth Circuit nominee whose hearing is being held today, Jonathan Kobes. Kobes typifies the kind of nominee that this administration has put forward again and again: a person with little experience but solid right-wing political credentials. Most alarmingly, Kobes has refused to condemn Trump’s many attacks on the courts and has even made public remarks that appear to excuse them. Given that courts of appeal are critically important for all Americans, this is even more troubling. Meanwhile, the administration’s attempts to pack the courts with judges who will excuse and enable every outrageous act by Trump goes all the way up to its Supreme Court nominee, and it has to stop.”