Robert Walker Discusses Whether Sen. Menendez Can Participate in Lynch Confirmation Vote

March 26, 2015

Robert L. Walker, of counsel in Wiley Rein’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was quoted in an article published March 23 in The Record about whether or not Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) should recuse himself from the confirmation vote to of Loretta Lynch to succeed Eric Holder, Jr. as Attorney General. Mr. Walker told The Record that Sen. Menendez would not have to recuse himself from the Lynch vote despite reports of a pending U.S. Department of Justice investigation into alleged corruption.

“There would be no requirement under any rule he recuse himself from such a vote,” Mr. Walker told The Record. “It might be that under the circumstances, he would want discretion to be the better part of valor and he simply decides to abstain. If it were to come down to a situation where Senator Menendez’s vote were crucial to the nomination passing the Senate, I think it would probably be prudent for [Lynch] to recuse herself from consideration of the Menendez matter.”