Impeaching John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Bill: 119-hres-241
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9]
Introduced: 2025-03-24
Policy area: Law
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:

tv_txt: IV 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 241 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 24, 2025 Mr. Clyde (for himself, Mr. Crane , Mr. Gill of Texas , Mr. Gosar , Mr. Brecheen , Mr. Harris of Maryland , Mr. Perry , Mr. Mills , Ms. Greene of Georgia , and Mr. Burlison ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Impeaching John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

That John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. Article I: Abuse of power Rather than adhering to the oath he took to uphold the Constitution when he was sworn as Chief Judge of the District Court of Rhode Island, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs. The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall have the sole Power of Impeachment and that civil Officers of the United States , including Federal judges, are subject to impeachment and removal. The separation of powers under the Constitution grants the President broad authority over the Executive Branch, including direct control and access to departments, as part of his role in ensuring the faithful administration of the laws and policies of the United States. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. engaged in actions that prioritized his own political views and beliefs over his duty of impartiality owed and deserved to litigants and the public in his handling of State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25–cv–39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.). Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has spent his entire professional career displaying his political views and beliefs in his financial contributions as well as public comments. The Code of Conduct for United States Judges states under Canon 5 that A Judge Should Refrain from Political Activity. . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. served as the director of the Rhode Island branch of Planned Parenthood, and Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. and his wife contributed almost $700,000 in political donations to Democratic committees, causes, and campaigns. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has allowed his personal, political opinions to influence his decisions and rulings. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has made an array of public comments clearly demonstrating a bias that would warp his decision in State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25–cv–39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.). In January 2021, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments stating, we fall back on kind of a stereotypical comment that judges should have no opinions and what not. And that’s just not true. . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in January 2021, that equated President Donald J. Trump’s first term as President to the Civil War and Jim Crow laws, and likened him to a tyrant. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in January 2021, that when sentencing, the law applies to them where they are for criminals who are women, black, or transgender. . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in January 2021, stating, When you’re sentencing someone that you have to take a moment and realize that this you know middle class, white, male privileged person needs to understand the human being who comes before us that may be a woman or may be black maybe be transgender maybe poor maybe rich maybe whatever may had experiences but not yours and may have to walk in their shoes and understand that the law applies to them where they are um and then you have to apply the law accordingly. . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in January 2021, stating, we have formed a committee to look at race in our court, have we given disparate sentences between blacks and whites about hiring practices. . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr.’s financial contributions and overt public comments clearly demonstrate a political bias that would impair his ability to make a fair judgement regarding President Trump and his Administration’s actions. Wherefore, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office. Article II: Conflicts of Interest While serving as a Chief Judge for the United States District Court of Rhode Island, John James McConnell Jr. had a major conflict of interest that prevented him from being impartial in the matter of State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25–cv–39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.). There is substantial evidence that Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization, Crossroads Rhode Island, and previously served as the Chair of the Board from 2011 to 2021. According to Crossroads Rhode Island’s tax filings, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has appeared every year as a director of the organization since he took the Federal bench. According to Crossroads Rhode Island’s tax filings for 2023, its total revenue was $30,664,778, of which $18,616,874 came from an array of government entities including the Government of Rhode Island. In fiscal year 2025, Crossroads Rhode Island has already received $2,897,630.41 in funds from the State government of Rhode Island. The State Government of Rhode Island is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and his Administration over which Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. presided. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. stated that All the States rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs and services. . . . Mem. Op. at 7, State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25–cv–39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I. Jan. 31, 2025) (ECF No. 50). There is a clear conflict of interest given that Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. presided over and made a decision regarding a case which significantly impacts the funding of an organization in which he serves as a director of and as a fiduciary. The Code of Conduct for United States Judges states under Canon 2A that A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. This prohibition applies to both professional and personal conduct. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny and accept freely and willingly restrictions that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen. . Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, requires that Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. . Moreover, section 455 of title 28, United States Code, requires that judges must disqualify themselves from a proceeding when He knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding . Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. had a significant conflict of interest in presiding over State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25–cv–39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.) due to his simultaneous role as a director of Crossroads Rhode Island. This conflict of interest made it impossible for him to be impartial in this proceeding. Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. should have immediately recused himself from presiding over this proceeding, but instead continued to oversee it knowing he was violating the duty of impartiality owed under Federal law. Wherefore, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.