CONFLICT OF INTERESTS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “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 [11-13-17] 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.
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.
District judges often provide the first ruling when laws are called into question, decisions that can put them at odds with the White House and its lawyers. Last month, for example, judges in Hawaii and Maryland temporarily blocked Mr. Trump’s travel ban.”
-Matt Apuzzo and Michael S. Schmidt, “Trump Judicial Pick Did Not Disclose He Is Married to a White House Lawyer,” The New York Times online, Nov. 13, 2017