Trump judicial nominee Brett Talley has never tried a case.

But you know, so what? Plenty of lawyers haven't tried cases to verdict and might still make great district court judges. No. That alone is not why the 36-year-old is such an appalling choice for the Middle District of Alabama. Nor is it his “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. Or his bombastic, partisan blogging.

It's this: The New York Times reported on Monday that Talley failed to mention in his publicly available Senate questionnaire that he is married to Annie Donaldson, a former Jones Day associate who is now a senior lawyer in the White House Counsel's Office.

Just … how? Did he forget? Intentionally omit it to dodge questions about why he was nominated? Not view it as a potential conflict of interest?

There is no answer that doesn't show him to be either a) an imbecile b) fundamentally dishonest c) both.

The form specifically asks, “Identify the family members or other persons, parties, categories of litigation and financial arrangements that are likely to present potential conflicts-of-interest when you first assume the position to which you have been nominated. Explain how you would address any such conflict if it were to arise.”

Like, say, every single Trump administration initiative vetted by the White House Counsel's Office?

Talley's answer: “If confirmed, I will recuse in any litigation where I have ever played a role. I will also recuse in any case that was handled by the Solicitor General's Office during my time with the Alabama Attorney General. I will evaluate any other real or potential conflict, or relationship that could give rise to appearance of conflict, on a case by case basis and determine appropriate action with the advice of parties and their counsel, including recusal where necessary.”

Mmmkay that's fine as far as it goes. But what about the part where he was specifically asked to identify “family members” who could present conflicts of interest? Like his wife? The woman he married on August 15, 2015 “at a ceremony in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they met as undergraduates at the University of Alabama 15 years prior to their marriage,” according to the Richmond Register?

She carried red roses? He wore a salmon-colored tie?

The woman who is now special counsel to the president and chief of staff to the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II?

How do you fail to mention that?

A one-time associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and former deputy solicitor general for the state of Alabama, Talley is currently working at the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy.

The Senate form also asked about “the dates of all interviews or communications you had with the White House staff or the Justice Department regarding this nomination.”

Talley offered that he “interviewed with attorneys from the White House Counsel's Office” and that he has “been in contact with officials from the White House Counsel's Office,” without mentioning that he (presumably) sleeps in the same bed as one of them.

It calls to mind Jared Kushner and his mind-bogglingly incomplete security clearance and financial disclosure forms, where, whoopsie-daisy, he forgot to list at least $10 million in assets.

If there's one consistent message from the Trump administration, it's this: Disclosure is for suckers. How's that audit on your tax returns coming, Mr. President?

The only consolation is that Kushner and Trump will be gone by 2020 or 2024 at the latest. But if Talley is confirmed—the Senate Judiciary Committee approved him on a party-line vote last week—we could be stuck with him for decades. And he has already shown he lacks the basic fitness of character to serve on the bench.

Trump judicial nominee Brett Talley has never tried a case.

But you know, so what? Plenty of lawyers haven't tried cases to verdict and might still make great district court judges. No. That alone is not why the 36-year-old is such an appalling choice for the Middle District of Alabama. Nor is it his “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. Or his bombastic, partisan blogging.

It's this: The New York Times reported on Monday that Talley failed to mention in his publicly available Senate questionnaire that he is married to Annie Donaldson, a former Jones Day associate who is now a senior lawyer in the White House Counsel's Office.

Just … how? Did he forget? Intentionally omit it to dodge questions about why he was nominated? Not view it as a potential conflict of interest?

There is no answer that doesn't show him to be either a) an imbecile b) fundamentally dishonest c) both.

The form specifically asks, “Identify the family members or other persons, parties, categories of litigation and financial arrangements that are likely to present potential conflicts-of-interest when you first assume the position to which you have been nominated. Explain how you would address any such conflict if it were to arise.”

Like, say, every single Trump administration initiative vetted by the White House Counsel's Office?

Talley's answer: “If confirmed, I will recuse in any litigation where I have ever played a role. I will also recuse in any case that was handled by the Solicitor General's Office during my time with the Alabama Attorney General. I will evaluate any other real or potential conflict, or relationship that could give rise to appearance of conflict, on a case by case basis and determine appropriate action with the advice of parties and their counsel, including recusal where necessary.”

Mmmkay that's fine as far as it goes. But what about the part where he was specifically asked to identify “family members” who could present conflicts of interest? Like his wife? The woman he married on August 15, 2015 “at a ceremony in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they met as undergraduates at the University of Alabama 15 years prior to their marriage,” according to the Richmond Register?

She carried red roses? He wore a salmon-colored tie?

The woman who is now special counsel to the president and chief of staff to the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II?

How do you fail to mention that?

A one-time associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and former deputy solicitor general for the state of Alabama, Talley is currently working at the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy.

The Senate form also asked about “the dates of all interviews or communications you had with the White House staff or the Justice Department regarding this nomination.”

Talley offered that he “interviewed with attorneys from the White House Counsel's Office” and that he has “been in contact with officials from the White House Counsel's Office,” without mentioning that he (presumably) sleeps in the same bed as one of them.

It calls to mind Jared Kushner and his mind-bogglingly incomplete security clearance and financial disclosure forms, where, whoopsie-daisy, he forgot to list at least $10 million in assets.

If there's one consistent message from the Trump administration, it's this: Disclosure is for suckers. How's that audit on your tax returns coming, Mr. President?

The only consolation is that Kushner and Trump will be gone by 2020 or 2024 at the latest. But if Talley is confirmed—the Senate Judiciary Committee approved him on a party-line vote last week—we could be stuck with him for decades. And he has already shown he lacks the basic fitness of character to serve on the bench.