WTHI TV reported that President Donald Trump's nominee to chair the independent agency tasked with adjudicating mine safety cases is a lawyer who has defended coal companies with safety violations. Mr Marco Rajkovich was nominated in January to chair the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent board responsible for deciding cases under the Mine Act of 1977.

Prior to his nomination, Mr Rajkovich worked in Kentucky representing coal companies and argued cases before the commission he is nominated to serve on, according to his online biography.

A CNN review has shed new light on Rajkovich's work on behalf of the mining industry, including his representation of a company accused violating code by trying to thwart federal inspections.

The government alleged officials at a Kentucky mine illegally told workers underground that Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors were on site for a surprise visit, according to federal court filings from 2010. The now-bankrupt company, Manalapan Mining Company, settled with the government in 2013, agreeing to a fine and an employee training program.

Court records list Rajkovich and a fellow partner at his law firm as the attorneys for Manalapan.