Mizelles Must Navigate Ethics of Dual Trump Appointed Roles

Chad Mizelle, the incoming Justice Department chief of staff, and his federal judge wife, Kathryn Mizelle, will need to steer clear of each other’s overlapping matters to avoid ethical conflicts.

It’s an entanglement that ethics attorneys and DOJ veterans don’t see as particularly challenging, given the small number of likely scenarios in which he’d have a role in a matter before her, or vice versa. Although one early test may occur over DOJ’s appeal of Judge Mizelle’s recent ruling with major implications for the department’s civil fraud enforcement.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his plans on Saturday to tap Mizelle for ...