The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a federal appeals court nominee who has represented Donald Trump in a defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
The panel voted 12-10, along party lines, Thursday to send Justin Smith’s nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to the Senate floor.
Trump has now tapped his personal legal teams for several federal appeals court seats. Judge Emil Bove last year was confirmed to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Trump nominated Sullivan & Cromwell partner Matthew Schwartz to fill an opening on the Second Circuit.
Smith is currently representing Trump in his appeal to the US Supreme Court to overturn a sexual abuse and defamation judgment handed down in Carroll’s suit.
He is “one of the several personal attorneys to President Trump who has been rewarded for his loyalty with a lifetime appointment to a federal court,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel, said ahead of the vote. In addition to his representation of Trump, Smith’s record shows he is “ideologically extreme,” Durbin said.
In response to Democratic concerns about his independence, Smith during his confirmation hearing said he’d received support throughout his career from individuals across the ideological spectrum.
“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.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) spoke in support of Smith’s nomination, telling the committee he was an “extremely qualified candidate.” Smith, currently with the Missouri law firm James Otis Law Group, served as chief of staff and first assistant in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office when Schmitt led the office.
The committee also advanced three nominees for the US District Court for the District of Kansas—Jeffrey Kuhlman, Tony Mattivi, and Tony Powell—along party lines. If all three are confirmed, the Kansas bench will consist entirely of Trump appointees.
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