Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Calling Out The Alarming Nomination Of Corrupt Trump Loyalist Edward Artau To The Federal Bench

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the confirmation vote for corrupt Trump loyalist Edward Artau to a federal judgeship, urging the Senate to reject his nomination. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

It's hard to believe that the nominees for the federal bench have gone so low, but under Donald Trump's leadership – his lack of morality, his total egotism, his total self-servingness – they have.

This nominee, Mr. Artau, is why Democrats are demanding historic levels of scrutiny.

Because that scrutiny reveals all of the corruption going on behind the scenes, just what we learned about Mr. Artau, today’s nominee.

It’s one of the most blatant cases of quid pro quo I have ever seen.

While Mr. Artau was begging Donald Trump and Republican Senators for a judgeship, while he was begging them to make him a judge, he was at the same time part of a panel of judges in Florida hearing Donald Trump’s defamation case against the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Donald Trump sues everybody. That's been his MO for decades. He tries to scare people with idiotic lawsuits that have no basis in law.

Well, in this case, he was suing the Pulitzer Prize Board in a case of defamation.

Mr. Artau was on the panel of judges to hear the case.

You don't need a high degree of honesty and you don't need to be an eagle scout to know this is a direct conflict of interest, and any judge with any ounce of integrity would recuse himself.

But of course, Mr. Artau stayed on the case.

He didn’t even tell anyone about the conflict of interest.

And – surprise, surprise, surprise – Mr. Artau ruled in favor of Trump.

These are the kind of sleazy people Donald Trump wants to put on the bench.

He has no principles.

He has no regard for the rule of law.

He picks people who have blind obeisance to him and who will bow down to the king.

That’s not what judges are supposed to do. That’s not what nominees to departments are supposed to do.

And he doesn’t care if they’re corrupt or if they are liars.

He doesn’t care if they lack any principle, sense of integrity, fidelity to rule of law.

One quality only: are they pro-Trump? Will they do whatever he wants?

That's good enough for a gavel and a robe in this Trump world, and it's good enough for our Republican colleagues, who just go along with all of this, knowing how wrong it is and shrugging their shoulders out of fear, obeisance, or some other untoward emotion.

The Senate should reject Mr. Artau today.

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