Trump Lawyer Selected for Appeals Court Pledges Independence (2)

A personal attorney for President Donald Trump said he’s been proud to represent him and vowed to set aside his own views, and stick to the law and facts if confirmed to a federal appeals court.

Justin Smith pushed back Wednesday at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Democratic concerns about his independence if confirmed to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

They cited Smith’s role in defending Trump in civil cases and his support for conservative organizations and related advocacy.

Smith made no apologies for his government and private legal work, his views, or his efforts highlighting conservative causes. He said he’s been supported throughout his career by people from across the ideological spectrum, including those with whom he may disagree.

“In every case I’ve been involved in, some of which do have some political issues, I’ve depended on judges to set aside their personal views and treat my case fairly and impartially—to apply the law and the facts,” Smith said. “That’s the type of judge I would strive to be.”

Smith has worked on an appeal of a judgment against Trump in a defamation case by the writer E. Jean Carroll, and his firm also represented Trump in his bid to get the special counsel’s charges of election interference in the 2020 balloting tossed out of court.

Democrats chose the Smith hearing to escalate their criticism of Trump judicial nominees who they say uniformly deflect or give incomplete answers when asked who won the 2020 election, which Trump lost and continues to assert was stolen.

Several Democratic committee members pushed Smith on the topic, recoiling at his response framed around congressional certification of the election that they criticize as scripted and political, and a red flag for anyone nominated for a lifetime judicial appointment.

Smith denied his answers were rehearsed, telling Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) in one exchange that he’s aware that Trump has “a lot of views” on the election. But Smith said he was only trying to be legally precise, as a judge would, and “repeatedly acknowledged” Joe Biden’s certification.

“What you call legally precise, a lot of people would call politically evasive,” Welch said in noting the response from Smith and others suggest the result was accidental or illegitimate.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) called “kind of absurd” the scenario Democrats have raised about Trump and judicial nominees. And Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is satisfied with how nominees have answered the 2020 election question.

“For some reason, my Democratic colleagues consider these correct legal answers to be evasive. One of them called it a ‘loyalty test.’ But these attacks are misguided,” Grassley said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said Smith answered the important questions, and is “ideally suited” for the judiciary.

“You appreciate the law, you appreciate our constitutional system. It’s in your core,” Schmitt said.

Smith previously worked for Schmitt in the Senate and at the Missouri attorney general’s office.

Other Trump personal attorneys selected for appellate judgeships include Emil Bove, who’s now on the Third Circuit, and Sullivan & Cromwell partner Matthew Schwartz, who’s been nominated for the Second Circuit.