Litigation

Nominee?s Political Donations Draw Questions

By Peter Hardin

Federal district nominee John “Jack” McConnell of Rhode Island has attracted plenty of Republican opposition, and now his foes are zeroing in on large contributions of nearly $700,00 by his family to Democratic candidates and causes.

McConnell’s donations “dwarf contributions made by other Obama court appointees, leading Republicans to question whether big-time donors could create a conflict of interest in a neutral federal judiciary,” according to an article in Politico.

Democrats counter that McConnell’s attackers were carrying out the will of the Big Business community. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has staked out opposition to the nomination of McConnell, a plaintiffs’ lawyer and managing partner of the Providence office of South Carolina-based Motley Rice (see Gavel Grab).

McConnell’s nomination recently was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a divided vote.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 23, 2010 (boomark / email).