The federal judge presiding over the Michael Cohen case finds herself at
the center of one of the toughest legal brawls of the Trump era -- but
District Judge Kimba Wood is no stranger to the spotlight.
She has a colorful and potentially controversial past that could arise
as the case involving President Trump's personal attorney moves forward.
Trump allies were quick to note that Wood once was considered for
attorney general by then-President Bill Clinton -- and she even
officiated the wedding of left-wing billionaire George Soros.
Former Trump adviser and current Fox News contributor Sebastian Gorka
said Wood should recuse herself.
“Now she has power over the lawyer who works for the man who beat Bill’s
wife in the 2016 election,” he tweeted. “WHERE’S THE THE RECUSAL?”
At the same time, the judge has a tough reputation and may end up a
fitting addition to a courtroom cast that involves some of New York's
most outspoken figures.
New York Times reporter and Trump-watcher Maggie Haberman mused that
Wood’s “colorful personal history is sort of perfect for a Trump
associate trial.”
In 2013, Wood presided over
the marriage of Soros to his third wife Tamiko Bolton in Bedford, N.Y.
The Hungarian-American billionaire is known for his promotion and
enormous funding of left-wing causes worldwide. According to Open
Secrets, Soros pumped $10 million into Hillary Clinton’s 2016
campaign -- making him one of her top donors. Politico reported
that his total funding of left-wing and Democratic causes during the
2016 cycle was $25 million.
Wood officiated at George Soros' 2013 wedding. (Reuters)
Predictably, Soros is no fan of Trump, calling him a “danger to the
world” at the World Economic Forum earlier this year.
SOROS CALLS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION A 'DANGER TO THE WORLD'
But Soros isn’t Wood’s only liberal connection. While she was nominated
to the U.S. District Court by Republican President Ronald Reagan, she
was thrust in the national spotlight in 1993 when she was chosen by
Democratic President Bill Clinton to be attorney general.
The Clinton White House informed reporters that they expected to
announce Wood, only for her to withdraw from consideration amid a public
firestorm over revelations she had hired an illegal immigrant as a
nanny.
Wood was the second Clinton pick for attorney general to be taken down
by the controversy that became known as “Nannygate.” Wood’s name was
floated only after Clinton’s first pick, Zoe Baird, had withdrawn after
it was revealed she too hired illegal immigrants for household work.
According to a contemporaneous New
York Times report, the Clinton White House was furious about Wood’s
revelation as officials said they had asked specifically about her
household help after the Baird fiasco, but Wood said she did not mislead
the White House.
She had also raised eyebrows at the time over revelations that she had
briefly trained as a Playboy bunny in the '60s, something White House
officials feared could lead to some mockery.
The Times’ account of Wood’s withdrawal from consideration reports that
the White House had been limited for picks after the president, pressed
by then-first lady Hillary Clinton, demanded the post be filled by a
woman. Wood, although a respected jurist, was seen as lacking
law-enforcement and managerial credentials.
Consequently, when the “Nannygate” controversy arose, Democrats on the
Senate Judiciary Committee including then-Delaware Senator Joe Biden
were not keen to fight for the nomination. Janet Reno was eventually
nominated and confirmed for the post.
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