Civil and Human Rights Coalition: Senate Should Reject Damien M. Schiff

WASHINGTON— The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights today sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging senators to reject President Trump’s nomination of Damien M. Schiff to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

The letter states in part, “It is difficult to fathom a nominee less deserving of a judicial confirmation than Damien Schiff…   As a prolific and anonymous blogger, Mr. Schiff has written screed after screed on a blog he created entitled ‘Omnia omnibus.’  Remarkably, Mr. Schiff is one of two pending judicial nominees (the other is John K. Bush), both nominated on May 8 by President Trump and both scheduled for a June 14 hearing, who have engaged in blog postings not identifying themselves as the authors of their controversial and provocative commentary.  Both of these judicial nominees hid their names when their extremist ideas were published and only took ownership of them now because the Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire requires the disclosure of all published writings and public statements.  Mr. Schiff’s writings demonstrate that he is completely lacking in an ability to serve as a neutral arbiter and to apply the law fairly and dispassionately.”

The letter states specific concerns about Schiff’s qualifications, including his temperament, and record on equal opportunity, LGBT rights, women’s rights, campaign finance laws, environmental rights, property rights, and judicial activism.

“Damien Schiff is wholly unfit to serve as a federal judge,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference. “He has a radical vision of the Constitution, and he has extremist views that do not envision an America where women and LGBT people have equal rights. He once brazenly referred to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy as a ‘judicial prostitute.’ The list of reasons is long, but they all point to the same conclusion – the Senate must reject Damien Schiff.”

The Leadership Conference’s letter to the Senate on Schiff is available here.

Earlier this week, The Leadership Conference also called on the Senate to reject President Trump’s nomination of John K. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. More information on his record is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.