[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 241 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 241
Impeaching John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States
District Court for the District of Rhode Island, for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 24, 2025
Mr. Clyde (for himself, Mr. Crane, Mr. Gill of Texas, Mr. Gosar, Mr.
Brecheen, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Perry, Mr. Mills, Ms. Greene of
Georgia, and Mr. Burlison) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United States
District Court for the District of Rhode Island, for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
Resolved, That John James McConnell Jr., Chief Judge of the United
States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, is impeached
for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of
impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people
of the United States of America, against John James McConnell Jr.,
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of
Rhode Island, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him
for high crimes and misdemeanors.
article i: abuse of power
Rather than adhering to the oath he took to uphold the Constitution
when he was sworn as Chief Judge of the District Court of Rhode Island,
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. knowingly politicized and
weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and
beliefs.
The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ``shall
have the sole Power of Impeachment'' and that ``civil Officers of the
United States'', including Federal judges, are subject to impeachment
and removal.
The separation of powers under the Constitution grants the
President broad authority over the Executive Branch, including direct
control and access to departments, as part of his role in ensuring the
faithful administration of the laws and policies of the United States.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. engaged in actions that
prioritized his own political views and beliefs over his duty of
impartiality owed and deserved to litigants and the public in his
handling of State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No.
1:25-cv-39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.).
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has spent his entire
professional career displaying his political views and beliefs in his
financial contributions as well as public comments. The Code of Conduct
for United States Judges states under Canon 5 that ``A Judge Should
Refrain from Political Activity.''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. served as the director of the
Rhode Island branch of Planned Parenthood, and Chief Judge John
McConnell Jr. and his wife contributed almost $700,000 in political
donations to Democratic committees, causes, and campaigns.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. has allowed his personal,
political opinions to influence his decisions and rulings. Chief Judge
John James McConnell Jr. has made an array of public comments clearly
demonstrating a bias that would warp his decision in State of New York
et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25-cv-39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.).
In January 2021, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public
comments stating, ``we fall back on kind of a stereotypical comment
that judges should have no opinions and what not. And that's just not
true.''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in
January 2021, that equated President Donald J. Trump's first term as
President to the Civil War and Jim Crow laws, and likened him to a
tyrant.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in
January 2021, that when sentencing, the ``law applies to them where
they are'' for criminals who are ``women, black, or transgender.''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in
January 2021, stating, ``When you're sentencing someone that you have
to take a moment and realize that this you know middle class, white,
male privileged person needs to understand the human being who comes
before us that may be a woman or may be black maybe be transgender
maybe poor maybe rich maybe whatever may had experiences but not yours
and may have to walk in their shoes and understand that the law applies
to them where they are um and then you have to apply the law
accordingly.''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. made public comments in
January 2021, stating, ``we have formed a committee to look at race in
our court, have we given disparate sentences between blacks and whites
about hiring practices.''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr.'s financial contributions and
overt public comments clearly demonstrate a political bias that would
impair his ability to make a fair judgement regarding President Trump
and his Administration's actions.
Wherefore, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. is guilty of high
crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.
article ii: conflicts of interest
While serving as a Chief Judge for the United States District Court
of Rhode Island, John James McConnell Jr. had a major conflict of
interest that prevented him from being impartial in the matter of State
of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 1:25-cv-39 (JJM)
(PAS) (D.R.I.).
There is substantial evidence that Chief Judge John James McConnell
Jr. serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization,
Crossroads Rhode Island, and previously served as the Chair of the
Board from 2011 to 2021.
According to Crossroads Rhode Island's tax filings, Chief Judge
John James McConnell Jr. has appeared every year as a director of the
organization since he took the Federal bench.
According to Crossroads Rhode Island's tax filings for 2023, its
total revenue was $30,664,778, of which $18,616,874 came from an array
of government entities including the Government of Rhode Island.
In fiscal year 2025, Crossroads Rhode Island has already received
$2,897,630.41 in funds from the State government of Rhode Island.
The State Government of Rhode Island is a named plaintiff in the
lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and his Administration over
which Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. presided.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. stated that ``All the States
rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs and
services. . . .'' Mem. Op. at 7, State of New York et al. v. Donald J.
Trump, et al., No. 1:25-cv-39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I. Jan. 31, 2025) (ECF
No. 50).
There is a clear conflict of interest given that Chief Judge John
James McConnell Jr. presided over and made a decision regarding a case
which significantly impacts the funding of an organization in which he
serves as a director of and as a fiduciary.
The Code of Conduct for United States Judges states under Canon 2A
that ``A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of
impropriety. This prohibition applies to both professional and personal
conduct. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public
scrutiny and accept freely and willingly restrictions that might be
viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen.''.
Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, requires that ``Any
justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall
disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might
reasonably be questioned.''.
Moreover, section 455 of title 28, United States Code, requires
that judges must disqualify themselves from a proceeding when ``He
knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his spouse or minor
child residing in his household, has a financial interest in the
subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any
other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of
the proceeding''.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. had a significant conflict of
interest in presiding over State of New York et al. v. Donald J. Trump,
et al., No. 1:25-cv-39 (JJM) (PAS) (D.R.I.) due to his simultaneous
role as a director of Crossroads Rhode Island. This conflict of
interest made it impossible for him to be impartial in this proceeding.
Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. should have immediately
recused himself from presiding over this proceeding, but instead
continued to oversee it knowing he was violating the duty of
impartiality owed under Federal law.
Wherefore, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. is guilty of high
crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.
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