Matthew Petersen, a Trump administration judicial nominee, who had trouble answering basic questions about courtroom procedure, withdrew his name from consideration and said in his letter to President Donald Trump that his nomination had become a distraction, The Hill reported.
“I had hoped my nearly two decades of public service might carry more weight than my two worst minutes on television. However, I am no stranger to political realities, and I do not wish to be a continued distraction from the important work of your Administration and the Senate,” Petersen, who is the third judicial nominee to be withdrawn in the last week, wrote in the letter.
Last week Petersen had an awkward exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy, a member of the Judiciary Committee, and Petersen admitted that he had never tried a case. He was also asked what the “Daubert standard” is to which Petersen responded, “I don’t have that readily at my disposal.”
Afterwards, Kennedy asked him if he knows what a ‘motion in limine’ is and Petersen answered that he did not have time to do a deep dive, and added that he would “probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table.”
Kennedy described Petersen as a decent person, but said that he was too inexperienced for the bench.
“Just because you’ve seen ‘My Cousin Vinny’ doesn’t qualify you to be a federal judge,” he said.
According to Kennedy, Peterson has no litigation experience. Kennedy said that Trump called him over the weekend and expressed his support.
“The president and I get along fine, and he has told me, ‘Kennedy, when some of my guys send somebody over who’s not qualified, you do your job,” Kennedy said.
Previously, nominations of two other controversial judicial candidates – Brett Talley and Jeff Mateer – were withdrawn.
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