Trump judicial nominee who was flummoxed by basic legal questions drops out of consideration

Matthew Spencer Petersen, the Trump judicial nominee who was humiliated last week after he was unable to answer several basic legal questions, has dropped out of being considered for an appointment to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Huffington Post reports that Petersen dropped out after a viral video showed him to unable to answer basic legal questions asked of him by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA).

During his questioning, Petersen admitted that he did not have a background in litigation, despite the fact that he had been nominated for a lifetime position at DC's U.S. District Court. He also was unable to describe how two basic abstention doctrines could be applied on a federal court.

"Petersen is Trump’s third district court nominee to get derailed over a lack of qualifications," Huffington Post notes. "Brett Talley, a 36-year-old lawyer who had never tried a case and earned a rare and unanimous 'not qualified' rating by the American Bar Association, withdrew his nomination last week. Jeff Mateer, who had described transgender children as evidence of 'Satan’s plan,' is not moving either."