Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!?

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Administrative Law Judge George Painter is retiring, and he has filed a formal complaint of bias against his fellow judge, Bruce Levine:

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Administrative Law Judge George H. Painter made serious allegations regarding fellow CFTC judge Bruce Levine in announcing his retirement.

In a notice sent to complainants and their attorneys, Judge Painter claims that Levine told him that he had promised former CFTC Chair Wendy Gramm “that he would never rule in a complainants favor”. Painter’s notice goes on to say, “A review of his rulings will confirm that he has fulfilled his vow.”

He is invoking 5CFR§930.208, Administrative Law Judge Loan Program--detail to other agencies to request that his remaining cases be assigned to someone, anyone, else, because Levine is the only other administrative law judge at the CFTC.

You can find the PDF of his complaint, along with a copy of an old WSJ article which details a long history of Mr. Levine's wrong-doing, like ex-parte contact with litigants, here.

It would have been nice if someone had ratted out this rat years ago.

H/t Streetwise Professor