Left Targets Judicial Nominee for Representation of Republicans on Election Matters

Yesterday, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina wrote an op-ed in The Hill, describing the Democrats' obstruction of the judicial confirmation process and attempted character assassination against one of President Trump's nominees, Thomas Farr, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina:

Senate Democrats have been indignantly sounding the alarm that President Trump represents a threat to the independence of the judicial branch. They are apparently unaware that the real threat to our judiciary – the flagrant politicization of our courts and the confirmation process itself – has been facing them in the mirror this entire time. . . . 

Since the moment Mr. Farr was nominated, he has been the subject of a coordinated and viciously dishonest smear campaign from the far-left designed to tank his confirmation. . . .  It’s important to note that this smear campaign has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Farr’s actual qualifications. He has tried cases in federal and state courts in North Carolina and has handled appeals at all levels of the North Carolina appellate courts, the Fourth and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. He is highly regarded and deeply respected by his professional colleagues in North Carolina from across the political spectrum. He is rated as “unanimously well-qualified” by the American Bar Association.

What is the basis of the left's special targeting of Mr. Farr for attack?  His representation of Republicans on election-related issues (emphasis added):

Ignoring Mr. Farr’s impressive qualifications, the far-left objects to his role providing legal counsel to Republicans in North Carolina on both voter ID and redistricting cases. This is a break from the bipartisan tradition that we do not hold lawyers accountable for the clients they represent and any animus one may harbor against them. 

Senator Tillis describes how the left and Senate Democrats have repeated misrepresentations about his career in an attempt to destroy Mr. Farr's reputation and character.  He concludes:

It is disappointing that some of my Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee appear willing to use pandering to the left as a stepping stone for their own political ambitions without any regard given to the reputational harm their posturing will cause to an exceptional attorney and an honorable person.

Fortunately, Chairman Chuck Grassley and the other Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are not willing to play the Democrats' political games.  At the Judiciary Committee' executive business meeting today, three circuit judge nominees and fourteen district court nominees, including Mr. Farr, were voted out of committee.  They now move to the Senate floor, where Democrats are employing a different set of delaying tactics, but Majority Leader McConnell has been prioritizing and devoting immense amounts of floor time to confirming judicial nominees.  We thank Senator Tillis, Chairman Grassley, Leader McConnell, and the other Senate Republicans for their commitment to confirming judges who support the rule of law.