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Basic Legal Questions Stump Trump Judicial Nominee

Matthew Spencer Petersen, pictured here in 2011, struggled to answer basic legal questions posed by Republican Sen. John Kennedy at a confirmation hearing Wednesday. Petersen is one of President Trump's nominees to be a district judge for the District of Columbia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Matthew Spencer Petersen, pictured here in 2011, struggled to answer basic legal questions posed by Republican Sen. John Kennedy at a confirmation hearing Wednesday. Petersen is one of President Trump's nominees to be a district judge for the District of Columbia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Judicial confirmation hearings don’t often go viral. However, footage of Matthew Spencer Petersen, one of President Trump’s nominees to be a district judge for the District of Columbia, was shared widely after Petersen struggled to answer basic legal questions posed by Republican Sen. John Kennedy at a confirmation hearing Wednesday.

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 15, 2017

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick (@Dahlialithwick).

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