Trump Nominee for Lifetime Seat on Federal Court Says It Was ‘Unfair’ of Him to Attack HRC Over Reaction to Matthew Shepard Murder

Steven Menashi, Donald Trump's nominee for the US Circuit Court of Appeals Second Circuit, expressed regret for controversial past writings that were brought to light by CNN's Kfile in August.

Menashi, a Special Assistant to Donald Trump and Associate Counsel to the President who was nominated for a lifetime seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, attacked the Human Rights Campaign and universities' attitudes toward gay students, denounced feminists, and diversity efforts in editorials in the 1990s and 2000s.

Said Menashi in a letter to U.S. Senators clarifying his views: “I have expressed arguments in good faith and relying upon the best evidence available to me at the time. I understand that some assertions may, in the light of better evidence, have been inaccurate. In addition, my views may have changed since I began writing decades ago. That is the natural consequence of engaging in public debate and attempting to think through contested issues. Over time, moreover; my tone has matured; I would not express myself the same way today as I did in college. Yet I have always tried to participate in the robust exchange of ideas in good faith. I also understand that the role of an editorial writer, which was my job prior to law school, is different than that of a lawyer or of a judge.”

CNN reports: ‘Menashi said in a response to a question from California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein that his criticism of the Human Rights Campaign was “unfair.” In a March 2001 editorial in The Dartmouth Review, Menashi accused the group of hypocrisy for not speaking out on crimes committed by gay men, only crimes committed against them, adding that the group had “incessantly exploited the slaying of Matthew Shepard for both financial and political benefit.” … “In retrospect, the criticism of the Human Rights Campaign was unfair,” Menashi said. “The murder of Matthew Shepard was a horrifying crime, and it is appropriate for the Human Rights Campaign to call special attention to a crime motivated by hatred. I regret the suggestion that it was improper.”‘

Read more of the report on Menashi's clarifications here.