Judge Anna Diggs Taylor accused of conflict of interest

Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, is accusing Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of a conflict of interest in the ACLU v. NSA law suit:

According to her 2003 and 2004 financial disclosure statements, Judge Diggs Taylor served as secretary and trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM). She was re-elected to this position in June 2005. The official CFSEM website states that the foundation made a "recent grant" of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan--a plaintiff in the wiretapping case.

According to the CFSEM website, "The Foundation's trustees make all funding decisions at meetings held on a quarterly basis."

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is crying foul. "If Judge Diggs Taylor failed to disclose this link to a plaintiff in a case before her court," said President Tom Fitton, "it would certainly call into question her judgment."

The link looks pretty indirect to me (and, who knows, she may have voted against the grant), but I guess this does raise a question or two.