President Donald Trump has selected the husband of his adviser and fervent republican, Kellyanne Conway, to lead the Department of Justice. George Conway will defend Trump’s travel ban in the Supreme Court.

George Conway himself declined to make comments on the matter. People familiar with this decision confirmed but ask not to make their names public since they are not authorized to say anything before the official announcement.

george-conway-justice-department
Kellyanne Conway and her husband George Conway. Image Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The new administration allegedly chose George Conway as the Head of the Justice Department. The Wall Street Journal first reported this decision. Several people with connections to the White House confirmed the information, but under the condition of anonymity because they cannot announce it before the White House does.

Mr. Conway will be entitled with the responsibility to defend the administration’s proposals and legal challenges, such as the polemic travel ban. As well, he will have to support the administration with the lawsuits filed against it.

Is Kellyanne Conway’s husband right for the position?

Conway, 53, is a partner at the New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He joined the law firm in 1988, soon after he graduated from Harvard and Yale Law School. Conway has a profound experience in litigation especially focusing on security, mergers, and acquisitions, contracts and antitrust cases. He was involved in complex and high profile cases. In 1990, Conway was the one who wrote the Supreme Court brief that path the way for Paula Jones’ civil suit against President Bill Clinton.

Once Mr. Conway is confirmed as the head of the Justice Department, he will be in charge of about 1000 lawyers that go through issues involving national security, consumer protection and who work to enforce the federal programs.

George Conway will have a crucial role in this administration. He will defend the travel ban proposed by Trump to the people from six Muslim- majority states that, according to certain judges, is far from promoting national security interests. As well, the case is taken to the courts because this travel ban might violate the due process rights of lawful permanent residents, people holding visas and refugees. Therefore, judges say it might be an unconstitutional proposal.

Last week, two other federal judges, from Hawaii and Maryland, decided to block the Presidential’ order saying that it leads to religious discrimination and because it was, in essence, the Muslim ban that Trump talked about during his presidential campaign.

As well, Mr. Conway will be entitled to oversee Trump’s defense in a lawsuit that accuses the president of violating the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. This clause forbids federal officeholders from accepting any kind of gift or remuneration from foreign governments. They said Trump is violating it because most of the customers of his hotels and resort come are the representatives of foreign governments.

Even before Trump assumed the presidency, back in January, his lawyers said that the clause didn’t bar “fair-market-value transactions,” such as the payment of hotel rooms. However, the lawsuit states that it does bar such transactions. The lawsuit was filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal group that focuses on reporting corruption.

President Trump is likely to face other legal problems due to a conflict of interest since he wants to be a president, but he refused to leave aside his real estate and business empire, while he is in the office.

Nepotism at the White House

The Conway is a very republican family. They seem to be true and fervent Trump’s supporters. That is why it is not shocking at all to see both Mr. and Ms. Conway in a high position during this administration.

Even if some might accuse the recent move of Trump regarding George Conway as nepotism, this should not affect the Conways at all. Ms. Conway doesn’t have a direct authority over her husband, nor does he on her. Therefore it would not violate the law against nepotism in government.

Kellyanne, a longtime Republican pollster, helped Trump during his campaign as a senior advisor. She advised him to follow the teleprompter in his speeches and help him delivering clearer messages during the final days of his campaign. She quickly gained Trump’s trust. She is very close to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Ms. Conway has been frequently named on news programs during the last months. As well, she has been at the center of many controversies due to her unconditional support to Trump’s actions. Last week, she suggested that Barack Obama might have spied on President Trump through a microwave. Then she said that she was speaking in general and didn’t mean to accuse Obama. Sean Spencer, the White House press Secretary, said her comments were clearly a joke.

Source: The New York Times