Top Democrat urges White House to withdraw ambassador pick involved in racist ad targeting Black politician

In a letter sent Thursday to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Sen. Robert Menendez said that Mark Burkhalter "failed to disclose his involvement in a lawsuit and ethics investigation related to his role in the production of a racist campaign flyer."

"During this time of national trauma and reckoning over violence and racist actions against African-Americans, however, it is unthinkable to nominate for a position of public trust an individual who participated in such a despicable, racist scheme," Menendez wrote in the letter obtained by CNN.

"I therefore urge you to immediately withdraw his nomination," the New Jersey Democrat wrote.

The Washington Post was the first to report on the story.

Burkhalter was nominated as top envoy to Norway in May. He served in the Georgia General Assembly for 18 years, where he served as speaker of the House and speaker pro tempore. Burkhalter is currently a senior adviser in the public policy and regulation practice at Dentons, a global law firm.

According to the 1994 court documents cited by Menendez and seen by CNN, Burkhalter -- who is White and served as campaign chairman for then-Fulton County, Georgia, Commission Chairman Mitch Skandalakis -- was involved in creating a "false and defamatory picture" of Black county commissioner Gordon Joyner, who was running for reelection that year.

The picture on the flyer falsely depicted Joyner "as having a prominent 'afro' hair style," darkened facial hair features, an enlarged lower lip and as having one eye lower than the other, according to the libel lawsuit filed by Joyner.

"Defendants mailed the cards bearing the false pictures captioned 'Gordon Joyner' primarily to white voters residing in the northern part of Fulton County, for the purpose of instilling and inciting racial fears and prejudices on the part of those voters," the lawsuit said.

Menendez has clashed with the administration in the past over the fitness of its ambassadorial nominees. However, the revelation about Burkhalter comes as the nation faces a renewed reckoning point on systemic racism brought on by widespread protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

Meanwhile, the President has increasingly stoked racial divisions in what appear to be attempts to appeal to his White conservative base -- defending Confederate monuments, calling Black Lives Matter a "symbol of hate" and retweeting (and later deleting without apology) a video of a supporter chanting, "White power."

Burkhalter, who was deposed as part of the lawsuit, was involved in delivering materials for the flyer, attributing it to a false political action committee, authorizing payment for part of its printing and approving its release, according to court documents.

That case was settled for an undisclosed sum in October 1995, and Skandalakis, Burkhalter and other officials signed a letter of apology to Joyner in which they took "full responsibility" for the flyer.

In a statement to CNN, Joyner said it was "unbelievable and inconceivable" that Burkhalter would be nominated as envoy, saying that he "clearly and definitely does not deserve or merit the nomination of the President or the consent and approval of the Senate as an Ambassador for all of the people of the United States of America."

"When I learned that Mark Burkhalter -- who was a leader in a notoriously despicable, mean, hateful, nasty, RACIST political campaign targeted, directed, and financed against me as a black elected official serving in office -- right now could become distinguished by a Senate vote to be an Ambassador representing America on foreign shores, I immediately was stunned, shocked, dismayed, saddened, and very, very hurt," said Joyner, an Atlanta-based civil rights lawyer.

"We can do much better," he said.

CNN has reached out to Burkhalter for comment. A State Department spokesperson referred CNN to the White House, which declined to comment on the record.

In addition to the lawsuit, Burkhalter was involved in an ethics investigation related to the flyer and following "nearly a year of proceedings, which included appearing in person before a hearing of the Ethics Commission, Mr. Burkhalter signed a consent order stating that he personally authorized payment for the flyer, failed to properly disclose the payment, and agreed that he violated Georgia law and would pay a civil penalty," as Menendez described in his letter.

"At a minimum, advice and consent means that we ensure that the individuals we confirm are not only experienced and qualified, but suitable for public service. Mr. Burkhalter's participation in the scheme to produce a racist campaign flyer, and his failure to be forthcoming with the Committee about the lawsuits and ethics complaints that arose from such a despicable scheme, means that the nominee does not meet the basic bar of being suitable for public service or a position of public trust," he wrote.