Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze Inflation Reduction Act funds. He has many conflicts of interest. He disclosed that he owns $250,000 stock in a company that received $75 million from the Act.
DC reporter Matthew Foldi found that he owns stock in Accelera by Cummins. Accelera is still waiting for its $75 million from the Inflation ‘Reduction’ Act.
Owning stock in a company involved constitutes a judicial conflict of interest. It can influence a judge’s impartiality.
Elon Musk noted, “If ANY judge ANYWHERE can stop EVERY Presidential action EVERYWHERE, we do NOT live in a democracy.”
Judge McConnell insists that it’s okay for judges to let personal opinions influence their decisions.
“I have opinions about a lot of things…”
When he was nominated for the bench, Sen. Patrick Leahy stood up for him, among other Democrat candidates. “All of these nominees (including Judge McConnell) have assured us that they understand the difference between being an advocate for a client and serving as a judge. I have no doubt that they do,” he said.
The Institute for Legal Reform found him unqualified for a lifetime judgeship:
Instead, we are opposing Mr. McConnell because he has demonstrated unsound legal judgment and has a history of strong personal anti-business bias. He is also among the lowest-rated of all current federal judicial nominees and, if confirmed, would have a clear conflict of interest because of his generous deferred compensation deal. Further, his elevation to the bench will draw many enterprising plaintiffs lawyers to the Rhode Island federal court.
State campaign records show that between 2002 and 2009, McConnell donated nearly $80,000 to the state Democratic Party and other causes.
Roll Call also noted that McConnell was the treasurer for the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee for 14 years, was David Cicilline’s mayoral campaign chair, and was on the board of directors at Planned Parenthood in Rhode Island.
McConnell donated $12,500 to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and $15,530 to Sen. Jack Reed. They are the senators who recommended him to Barack Obama.
His relationship with Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse goes back at least two decades. McConnell litigated a case over many years with the blessing of Whitehouse, who, at the time, served as the state attorney general. McConnell took on the lead pigment industry, and paint manufacturers were accused of minimizing the danger of lead in paint products as far back as the 1920s. McConnell’s team eventually won the case in 2006, but the Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned the verdict in 2008.
McConnell donated half a million dollars to Democrats over 30 years, and his wife, who is only listed as a homemaker, gave a quarter of a million to Democrat candidates, including Sheldon Whitehouse.
Republicans filibustered his nomination to the court due to pay-to-play.
This judge should be IMPEACHED and kicked from overseeing any future cases related to this administration.
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