ABA defends its role in vetting nominees to federal courts
The president of the American Bar Association is pushing back on the Trump administration's recent decision to stop allowing the organization to vet the records of the president's federal judicial nominees.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, William Bay said the association was 'both surprised and disappointed' that its standing committee would not have access to judicial nominees and information about them for the first time in 72 years.
'The changes the Justice Department is apparently imposing will likely result in less transparency in the process of confirming nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench and appear to be based on incorrect information set forth in your letter,' said Bay.
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His letter comes in response to a letter Bondi sent last month to the ABA stating that the association was 'no longer a fair arbiter of nominees' qualifications' and that the Justice Department would not direct judicial nominees to provide waivers granting the association access to nonpublic information, such as their bar records.
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