Cotton Blocks Judges on Court Familiar to His Former Law Firm

[DonViejo]

Source: Roll Call

By Todd Ruger
CQ Roll Call Staff
July 21, 2015, 10:13 a.m.

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton blocked five of President Barack Obama’s judicial picks for an often overlooked federal court, a move that lines up well with the interests of one of his old law firms.

Cotton, ignoring a plea from the chief judge of the Court of Federal Claims, objected on the Senate floor last week to a Democratic request to allow confirmation votes for five nominees to that court. Those judges hear disputes about government contracts and tax refund suits.

Conservative law firm Cooper & Kirk, where Cotton worked in 2004, sells itself as the “go-to firm” to sue the government in the biggest of cases and is currently representing several clients in cases before the court. The firm's employees were contributors to Cotton in 2012 and in 2014, making about one third of their total campaign contributions in 2014 to Cotton.

Interests align in other ways for the conservative Cotton, Senate Republicans as a whole, and the boutique law firm. The court now is lopsided with Republican appointees: eight Republicans to three Democrats. That includes a former Cooper & Kirk attorney, Victor Wolski, whose time at the firm coincided with Cotton's.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/cotton_blocks_judges_on_court_familiar_to_his_former_law_firm-242922-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

[Fla Dem]

1. How can one senator block nominations? Oh and Cotton is a little pissant. nt

[bluedigger]

2. Henceforth, let him be known as Cotton, R - Cooper & Kirk.

[cosmicone]

3. Cotton is a slow and steady tortoise on the same path as the hare - Ted Cruz

Cotton wants to run for POTUS in 2020 or 2024 -- by that time Ted Cruz would have been tarred and feathered into back-bench oblivion.

[Nuschler]

4. Tom Cotton is a headline seeking loser

This Iraq vet is a complete loser. Within a few months of becoming a senator he writes a laugh inducing letter to the Iranian clerics. These clerics all have PhDs and MBAs from top USA universities! And Cotton tells them “You may not understand how our constitution works...”

Then within 24 hrs he is wined and dined by a massive defense contractor convention. $240 BILLION FY2014 for defense contracts. Lockheed Martin-$22.3 billion, Boeing $15 Billion, General Dynamics $12.5 Billion.

NOW Cotton shows his true colors by obstructing the appts of judges who his donors (a law firm) don’t want.

Our congress used to “serve” constituents...now jerks such as Cotten are in it to attain as much power and money as possible. I think of my fellow service members and we are angry about losers such as Cotten!

[SoapBox]

5. Rotten and corrupt.

[erronis]

8. Lots of ways to combine Cotton and evil - I like yours.

[Dawson Leery]

6. Typical corrupt thug who does nothing unless it benefits himself.

[Fred Sanders]

7. Fascists just being fascists. Remember, Wisconsin is the incubation chamber for going national.

All fascist eyes on Wisconsin to see how the third branch of government can also be bought.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. The Federalist Papers were correct

beware of factions

[mountain grammy]

10. Rotten, stinking, corrupt bastard.

[geretogo]

11. He and his other 46 traitors and partners in crime should be put on trial for treason .

[olegramps]

12. I wonder if our Forefathers would have even bothered witha trial.