Matthew Petersen: Quiz-flunking Trump judge nominee withdraws - BBC News
Matthew Petersen was unable to answer basic legal questions when senators quizzed him.
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US President Donald Trump's latest judiciary nominee has withdrawn his name after failing to answer basic legal questions at his Senate confirmation hearing.

"It has become clear to me over the last few days that my nomination has become a distraction," Mr Petersen wrote in a letter.

Mr Petersen was nominated as a federal judge in the District of Columbia.

Mr Trump had accepted his offer to withdraw, the White House said.

Mr Peterson, a Republican member of the Federal Election Commission, is the latest of Mr Trump's conservative judicial nominations to fail.

At the hearing, Mr Peterson stumbled over questions asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy.

Senator Kennedy starts by asking Mr Petersen and the four other nominees who appeared with him: "Have any of you not tried a case to verdict in a courtroom?"

Senator Kennedy: Have you tried a jury trial?

Senator Kennedy: Have you ever taken a deposition by yourself?

Senator Kennedy: Just for the record, do you know what a motion in limine is?

Matthew Petersen: I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table.

The Louisiana Senator and former law professor, who still fully supports Mr Trump, openly criticised his nominee in a later TV interview.

"Just because you've seen My Cousin Vinny doesn't qualify you to be a federal judge," Mr Kennedy told local station WWL-TV, referring to the 1992 comedy film about a novice lawyer.

Mr Kennedy told the station that Mr Trump called him after learning of the exchange and agreed that Mr Peterson was too inexperienced.

Mr Peterson, who became the third of Mr Trump's judicial picks to flounder in just a week, said: "I had hoped that my nearly two decades of public service might carry more weight than my two worst minutes on television."

Despite recent setbacks, Mr Trump has made progress filling other judicial vacancies with conservative judges and notably restored the Supreme Court's conservative majority with the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch.