In a post made to X on February 16, 2025, America First Legal (AFL) revealed a massive corruption scandal surrounding Judge McConnell. The Rhode Island Judge blocked Trump’s spending freeze. According to AFL this decision was self-serving as the Judge sat on the board of an NGO that received 100s of Millions of taxpayer dollars.
“Judge McConnell, the federal judge blocking President Trump’s spending freeze, has served for 18 years on the board of a nonprofit that has received $128M in government funding during that time. Now, after his ruling to keep federal funds flowing, his nonprofit stands to receive millions more.” America First Legal posted. ” Judge McConnell must recuse himself IMMEDIATELY.”
“AFL has uncovered a major potential conflict of interest for Judge John McConnell, Chief Judge of the federal district court of Rhode Island, who halted President Trump’s temporary spending freeze,” the added. “AFL has uncovered evidence suggesting that Judge McConnell appears to be currently serving on the Board of Directors for the non-profit NGO Crossroads Rhode Island, where he was previously the Chair of the Board and is still currently listed as the Chair-Emeritus.”
“In fact, Judge McConnell has appeared as a Director on Crossroads’ IRS Form 990 every year since he took the federal bench in 2013,” AFL explained. “And, for much of that time, he served as Chair of the Board, a position he held from 2011 through 2021. Prior to serving as Chair, he was the Vice Chair in 2009 and 2010 and a board member from 2006 to 2008.”
“According to Crossroads’ 2023 Form 990, Crossroads Rhode Island received over $18.6 million in government funding that year alone. That accounted for over half of its $30 million of revenue,” the group posted. “AFL’s review of required disclosure forms reveals that since Judge McConnell became Vice Chair of the Board of Crossroads Rhode Island in 2009, the organization has received over $117.6 million in government funding (accounting to the end of 2023).”
“This year, Rhode Island government records show that Crossroads Rhode Island has already received just under $2.9 million in FY2025 to provide various programs and services to Rhode Island, one of the plaintiffs,” they continued. “It is common practice for the federal government to disburse money to the states, which then hand it out to NGOs like Crossroads Rhode Island.”
“Here, Judge McConnell ordered taxpayer dollars to continue flowing to the states, including Rhode Island, writing, “[s]tates rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs,”’ AFL explained. “USA Spending shows that in the past 15 years, 155 federal grants to Rhode Island state and local governments list Crossroads Rhode Island as a sub-awardee. In FY2023 alone, the organization’s audit shows that more than $10 million in federal funding flowed through Rhode Island to Crossroads.”
“If, as the documents suggest, Judge McConnell has been a leader of Crossroads Rhode Island, and if, as the documents also suggest, he knew or should have known that Crossroads Rhode Island would stand to benefit from his ruling against the federal taxpayers, then it seems he should have fully disclosed his entanglement with this federally funded organization up front and recused himself from the matter,” they concluded.
