Historic Appellate Pick Fires Back at GOP Bid to Sink Nomination

Adeel Mangi, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the first Muslim federal appellate judge, defended himself against Republican criticism that has jeopardized his prospects for Senate confirmation.

Mangi said in a letter to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) that came to light on Friday that he was writing to “address certain misstatements” advanced by Republicans about his work, and “certain baseless accusations that have been made about my views” regarding law enforcement.

“Whether motivated by attempts to portray my religion as violent, or any other goal, any suggestion that I have sympathy for attacks on law enforcement is shocking and false,” Mangi said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Mangi’s correspondence comes while facing sharp opposition from Republicans and while losing support from key Democrats. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) says he won’t back nominees without bipartisan support, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) says she opposes Mangi.

The fight comes with a number of Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns, potentially tipping control of the divided chamber if they lose in November. Democrats hold a 51-49 advantage and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has yet to schedule floor action on Mangi.

The White House says Republicans are engaged in a smear campaign and urges Democrats to confirm Mangi.

Republican Pressure

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took to the floor on Friday to again slam Mangi, saying his “radical associations are truly staggering.”

During his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in December, Senate Republicans pressed Mangi about about his role as an advisory board member for the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers Law School.

The group held a controversial event commemorating the 20-year anniversary of 9/11. Republicans on the committee also pressed Mangi for his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Mangi said at the hearing that he wasn’t involved in the Rutgers event because his role on the board was limited. He also condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians as “abominable and against everything I stand for.”

More recently, Republicans have questioned his tenure as an advisory board member of the Alliance of Families for Justice, a group with ties to Kathy Boudin. She was convicted of felony murder for her role in a Brink’s armored truck robbery in New York, that led to the deaths of two police officers in 1981.

McConnell says Republicans “will continue to oppose the nominee who has repeatedly chosen instead to mingle with supporters of terrorists and cop-killers.”

Mangi, a partner with Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, said he was only connected to the alliance after taking a pro bono case that was settled. He said the advisory board has never convened, and he has never met Boudin and wasn’t involved with anything related to her that may have occurred at the organization.

He said crimes against law enforcement were “horrific and indefensible” and he has never been involved in criminal defense work.