Thursday, March 2, 2017

Jake Proctor, son of U.S. Judge David Proctor, has long-standing ties to Jeff Sessions and now works for Luther Strange, leading to conflicts for his father


Jeff Sessions and Jake Proctor
(From Facebook)
The son of U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor is a newly hired staff member in the office of U.S. Senator Luther Strange (R-AL), Web research indicates. That supposedly is the reason Proctor recused himself from our pending "House Case." But the story hardly ends there.

Jake Proctor, a 2016 graduate of the University of Alabama, started working as a staffer in the United States Senate on January 3 of this year, according to his Facebook page. The post does not say he was employed with Luther Strange at that time -- in fact, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley did not announce Strange's appointment to the Senate until Feb. 9 -- but Judge Proctor said his reason for recusing was that someone "related" to him had gone to work for Strange.

A number of questions remain unanswered about the circumstances behind Proctor's recusal, but this much seems clear:

* The unnamed relative was Jake Proctor, the judge's son;

* Something is fishy, or at least highly curious, about the dates related to Proctor's recusal and his son's employment in the Senate;

* Jake Proctor, according to his Facebook page, also has worked for former U.S. Senator and current Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Judge Proctor wrote in the order recusing himself that his relative had worked for Sessions before joining Strange's staff.

That last item might be the most important of all, in light of Judge Proctor's serial conflicts in our case. It also gets interesting, timely, and of national scope when you consider this question: If young Mr. Proctor considers Jeff Sessions to be "a warrior for the conservative movement," how does that square with last night's Washington Post story about Sessions' meetings with a Russian envoy during the 2016 campaign? How does that square with evidence that Sessions lied to Congress about the meetings? Does young Mr. Proctor have any clue that his "conservative warrior" is a profoundly corrupt individual?

In a caption to a photo of himself with Jeff Sessions, Jake Proctor writes the following:

Jake Proctor
April 12, 2016

This morning I was reflecting on my time in DC last summer. It was such an honor to work for Senator Jeff Sessions. Being on the defense team, I was able to see first hand the dangers our country faces, but I was also able to see the great work that Senator Sessions and his staff do for the people of Alabama. He is truly a warrior for the conservative movement and works daily to make this country a better place.

Notice the date on the caption -- April 12, 2016 -- and its reference to the previous summer. The words indicate Jake Proctor worked for Jeff Sessions in summer 2015. That was long before we filed our complaint in "The House Case" on March 26, 2016. It means Jake Proctor had worked for Sessions well in advance of our filing -- and Judge Proctor had every reason to know that at least four defendants in our case were closely aligned with his son's boss.

Bottom line: The moment "The House Case" was filed, Judge Proctor knew he had a conflict that required his recusal. But he stayed on the case, even after we had filed one recusal motion that should have jogged his memory about any conflicts. Judge Proctor did not step down until after we had filed our second recusal motion in early February -- and he claimed it was due to Strange's recent staff hirings, even though the judge's conflicts date at least to his son's employment with Jeff Sessions in summer 2015.

Jake Proctor at Trump ball
(From Facebook)
What about the curious timing of Jake Proctor's employment? Consider this:

* Jake Proctor says he went to work as a Senate staffer on Jan. 3, 2017, but Luther Strange was not appointed to the Senate until more than one month later. Was Jake Proctor working for Sessions, even though the latter already had been nominated as Trump's attorney general, and then switched to Strange? Did someone know, well in advance, that Bentley was going to appoint Strange to fill Sessions' seat, and that made Jake Proctor comfortable about getting an early start on the job?

* Judge Proctor claimed in his recusal order that he dismissed "The House Case" before the issue of his son's employment with Strange came up. But if Jake Proctor was working in the Senate on Jan. 3, and his boss was Luther Strange, that isn't true. To be precise, Judge Proctor dismissed our case on Jan. 13, 10 days after his son went to work for somebody in the Senate. The latest version we can find of Sessions' Senate staff directory does not list Jake Proctor -- and one wonders why Sessions would make a new Senate hire when he knew he had been nominated as attorney general. All of that suggests Jake Proctor went to work for Luther Strange on Jan. 3 -- before Strange formally had been announced as Sessions' successor -- and Judge Proctor flat-out lied in a court order.

Either way, a disqualified judge decided our case -- and that isn't a matter of discretion for Proctor; a disqualified judge must step down, and he didn't do it.

While many questions remain about Judge Proctor's recusal, there is little doubt that he was disqualified from the outset of our case; it's only a matter of whether he admits it in his recusal order. The important thing is this: All of Proctor's orders in "The House Case," and in the related "Jail Case, must be vacated.

Proctor's name always tends to bring the word "deceit" to mind, so let's leave on this note: Why did the judge fail to reveal that the relative was his son, and his name is Jake Proctor? Was Judge Proctor wanting to give the impression that it was a distant relative, someone he barely knows? Was Judge Proctor trying to paint a picture that he's only mildly corrupt, rather than wildly corrupt?

We'll let readers decide that question for themselves. For me, it points to a judge who is dishonest to his core.





27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I figured it was one of the two sons. No wonder Proctor was trying to keep that out of his order.

Anonymous said...

This seedy story is swimming in white privilege.

Anonymous said...

Jake Proctor was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. (RIP, Ann Richards)

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, LS, this is how politics works, e.g. Jeff Sessions seems to have come through for Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10212108851258699

Anonymous said...

Jake Proctor might soon wish he'd never heard of Jeff Sessions. I think Jeffy is going down in the Russia scandal

legalschnauzer said...

@12:05 -

Thanks for a fascinating comment. I saw that Watkins post yesterday and thought, "My, that sure got tied up with a neat little bow. And it happened not long after Sessions became AG. Hmmm. I wonder why Sessions would do such a favor for Watkins. Did Watkins do a favor for him, and what might it have been."

What do you think? Watkins wrote nice things about the racist Sessions and said he was 50/50 in the Clinton/Trump race and even wrote a number of negative posts about Clinton. Do you think Watkins sold his soul to Sessions to get out of legal and financial problems? Is Watkins tainted, and does his Facebook stuff have any credibility at this point?

Anonymous said...

I saw that Donald Watkins post yesterday and wanted to vomit. No doubt Sessions helped make those problems go away. Of course, with Sessions now tied deeply to Russia "the Donald" might wish he had not gotten involved with "The Donald's" AG.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Jake Proctor is taking a ride on the gravy train.

Anonymous said...

Trump has come out with "confidence" in Sessions. That means Sessions probably won't make it though the weekend. Here is link to WaPo's story on "The Donald's" reaction. The comments section has link to your report about Session's late-night visits to Bill Pryor.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/03/02/trump-has-total-confidence-in-jeff-sessions-amid-calls-for-attorney-generals-resignation/?utm_term=.9e5eb9be6b88#comments

Anonymous said...

Funny pic of "Little Proctor" standing around like a potted plant at the Trump Inaugural Ball. The kid has drunk the Kool-Aid early in life.

Anonymous said...

Judge Proctor owes his career to Jeff Sessions, and now Jeffy is going down for corruption. Hah! Serves fat-ass Proctor right.

legalschnauzer said...

2:42 -- It does serve Proctor right. And remember their alliance involves under-handed tactics to get a black federal judge, U.W. Clemon, removed from a civil case where Sessions was defendant. That case probably would have cost Sessions a huge amount of money and maybe his political career, so Sessions owes Proctor, too.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if "Little Proctor" has shit stains on his undies yet. He's tied to Sessions, and Big Lutha probably is going down for a quid pro quo with the "Luv Guv."

Anonymous said...

Welcome to GOP politics, Little Proctor.

Anonymous said...

I've long had this ill feeling when Donald Watkins would write nice things about a bigot like Sessions. If Watkins sought help from Sessions, shame on Watkins. He should know what a treasonous little bastard Sessions is.

Anonymous said...

I predict Sessions is forced out by sundown on Sunday. And David Proctor, and Little Proctor, will forever be tied to a treasonous politician.

Anonymous said...

Sessions has been getting away with shit his whole life. He's not going to get away with this. I hope Big and Little Proctor get major blow back.

Anonymous said...

Big Proctor has a lifetime appointment, so he's probably fine. But Little Proctor might soon be asking, "Do you want fries with that?"

Anonymous said...

Your story about Sessions' late-night visits to Bill Pryor is making the rounds on Disqus forum.

legalschnauzer said...

Here is URL to the post about Sessions' late-night visits to Pryor:


http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2017/01/jeff-sessions-in-1990s-made-frequent.html

Anonymous said...

What if Jeff Sessions arranged for Big Proctor to screw you and Carol? What if Sessions intervened to get Donald Watkins'legal and financial problems fixed, perhaps in exchange for some nice posts from a prominent black Alabama attorney?

legalschnauzer said...

My understanding of the law, @7:16, is that both scenarios you describe would be crimes -- obstruction of justice.

I should say this about Watkins: I have written approvingly several times about his reporting on Facebook, and I think he has helped expose serious wrongdoing in Alabama -- and for that, he deserves our thanks. But I've been troubled by his glowing posts about Sessions, his persistence in acting like the Trump/Clinton race was a toss-up, and so on. When Watkins wrote the other day about his financial and legal problems being wrapped up nicely, with a big bow on top (and it came just weeks after Sessions became AG), it gave me pause. I'm not in a position to accuse anyone of impropriety in that matter, but I can say I think Watkins has done himself a disservice by writing glowingly about Sessions when he surely knows Sessions is an ethically challenged bigot.

Anonymous said...

Aboard the Eliza Battle the crew was in a joyful mood. Alabama's new Attorney General won his motion to include," The reason Mike's first Attorney was forced to leave Mike's defense team," in the official record of the trial transcripts. Baxley had filed a motion against putting a private conversation between Mike's first Attorney and the Judge in the record. Bob Yancey replied that Baxley's motion was proof that the General was alive, when we only had 80 Proof that he was dead.The Stranger in the Shadows responded that we had 100 Proof that he was dead because the Jack Daniels was duty free Silver Select Single Barrel Whiskey. The Stranger continued that the General got his duty free whiskey from the Russian ship when he went to romance the figurehead of the Goddess Aurora.
Sheldon remarked that the CSS Virginia with Sessions on board was taking on water. Admiral Tyron responded that the CSS Virginia was a formidable warship, but she only fought one battle. The Stranger in the Shadows replied that McGregor did not capture the USS Merrimack [ CSS Virginia] to fight with, but to get Big Luther out of the Attorney's General's office. Shuler has been trying to tell people with his Ashley Madison posts, that you do not want to go to war with some one who has no loyalty to his family. If Bentley and Big Luther had remained at their assigned post, Mike could not have gotten his man appointed Alabama Attorney General.
People underestimate Mike. He has a plan.

legalschnauzer said...

God, I love the tales of the Eliza Battle. Thank you, thank you. Hope you are saving these for a book someday.

Anonymous said...

Aboard the Eliza Battle Bob Yancey could hear some footsteps as some one approached in the darkness. The Stranger in the Shadows said," Bob! You can stop waving the lantern because he has seen the light."

Anonymous said...

@12:05 on March 2 here: Didn't mean to impugn Donald Watkins with my link, LS. Just meant to imply that he knows how the game works and how to play it. As a very successful, long-time player said to me once, "Don't hate the players, hate the game."

My problem with Sessions is that--even though he may be short term--he's already set the stage, between his rollbacks on private prison limits, consent decrees and civil asset forfeiture, something that should be of interest to you and the Eliza Battle fabulist. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/spotlight/2017/03/01/policing-the-usa-sessions-private-prisons-consent-decrees-ferguson-baltimore/98364940/


e.a.f. said...

Sessions meetings with the Russian embassador is quite in keeping with "conservative" views and that is why Proctor the younger thinks of Sessions as a conservative warrior. How anyone could think of Sessions as a warrior is beyond me. I know 90 yr olds who could deck him and a couple of 5 yr olds also.

Putin is the ultimate racist/conservative. that is why Trump likes him. When you have a look at Russia and their attitudes towards anything non Russian, it isn't pleasant. Russia was well know for its anti Semitism back into the 1800s. Putin struts upon his stage like a tiny little hitler and Trump just loves it. These boys like Control of everything. Its part of the conservative bent. Nothing different. everything the same, no challenges. do what I want and do it now.

this evening 60 Min. interviewed Le Pen of France. Well its a Trump in a skirt. she too loves Putin. Thinks he's a great leader. Putin is a fascist and a racist. Works for Trump. works for Sessions and that proctor boy isn't he from Alabama? enough said about politics and racism.