WASHINGTON — When the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Brett Talley if he would have any conflicts of interest if confirmed as a federal judge, he failed to disclose one potentially big one.
He's married to a White House lawyer.
Brett Talley, President Trump's pick for federal judge in Alabama, is married to Ann Donaldson, the chief of staff to the White House Counsel.
That connection, first reported by The New York Times, adds to the growing concerns about Talley, a 36-year-old official at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy. Although a lawyer for 10 years, he's never argued a case in a courtroom and the American Bar Association has rated him "not qualified" for a lifetime appointment to the bench.
Trump nominated Talley to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in September. Like all nominees, he was asked to submit a detailed questionnaire covering his legal career, writings, speeches and employment.
In the section headed "Potential Conflicts of Interest," the Senate asked Talley to "identify the family members or other persons ... that are likely to present potential conflicts of interest."
Talley, a former deputy solicitor general in Alabama, said he would recuse himself in any litigation where he ever played a role, or any case handled by the Alabama attorney general during his tenure in that office.
But being married to a White House lawyer could present a host of conflicts for a federal judge.
His wife, Donaldson, actually holds three different titles in the White House: Deputy assistant to the president, special counsel to the president, and chief of staff to the White House Counsel. She came to the White House in March from Jones, Day Reavis and Pogue, the same law firm where White House Counsel Donald McGahn — Trump's campaign lawyer — formerly worked.
U.S. district courts have broad jurisdiction over most issues of federal law, including lawsuits against the president, his administration and federal agencies. In her position, Donaldson would be privy to the administration's legal strategy for defending Trump's initiatives in court.
Talley has also worked in politics, as a speechwriter for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, from 2013 to 2015. (He also maintains a second career as an author of horror fiction books — an avocation he said he would maintain even if confirmed to the court.)
Neither the White House nor Sen. Richard Shelby, Talley's main sponsor in the confirmation process, immediately explained why he failed to disclose the relationship. Talley's nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week on a party-line 11-9 vote.
Taylor Foy, a spokesman for committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, defended the nominee. He wasn't required to list his spouse, and it's "no secret" that they're married — she was sitting behind him at his confirmation hearing, he said. No one raised the issue then.
He also noted that Talley promised to "evaluate any other real or potential conflict, or relationships that could give rise to the appearance of conflict, on a case by case basis."
Democrats — many of whom were already lining up against his nomination — said the nomination should be put on hold until Talley explains all of his potential conflicts of interest.
"He is wholly unqualified for this lifetime position," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "By failing to disclose that his wife is one of President Trump's lawyers, Talley has betrayed his obligation to be open and transparent with the Senate and the American people."
