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Washington: Matthew Petersen, a nominee to the federal judiciary, has withdrawn from consideration days after a video clip showed him unable to answer basic questions about legal procedure, the White House confirmed on Monday.
Petersen, nominated for a seat on the US District Court for the District of Columbia, is the third Trump judicial pick to withdraw in the past week amid criticism from Democrats and others about their qualifications.
Trump judge pick fails basic legal questions
Donald Trump's nomination for a federal judge position, Matthew Petersen, fails to answer basic questions about his desired profession.
White House spokesperson Raj Shah confirmed that Petersen's nomination has been withdrawn and declined to comment further.
MUST WATCH: Republican @SenJohnKennedy asks one of @realDonaldTrump’s US District Judge nominees basic questions of law & he can’t answer a single one. Hoo-boy. pic.twitter.com/fphQx2o1rc
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 15, 2017
The video of Petersen that went viral on Thursday captured five minutes of brutal questioning by Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, at Petersen's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee the day before.
It was posted on Twitter by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, who wrote that it showed Kennedy asking Petersen "basic questions of law & he can't answer a single one."
As of Friday, the White House was standing by Petersen, with a spokesperson saying that he was qualified and that "the President's opponents" were "trying to distract from the record-setting success the President has had on judicial nominations."
Petersen has been a member of the Federal Election Commission since 2008 but has no trial experience.
Washington Post