Court hints at keeping Trump order on hold
The first federal appeals court to consider President Trump’s ban on travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries held a contentious hearing Tuesday and appeared, in the end, to be leaning against reinstating Trump’s order, which has been suspended by a federal judge.
During the one-hour session of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in San Francisco, the three-judge panel focused on the critical question of whether Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order, which also halted admission of all refugees, was a national security decision immune from lawsuits or judicial review.
Yes, argued Justice Department attorney August Flentje. “The president is the official that is charged with making those judgments,” he said.
“Are you arguing, then, that the president’s decision in that regard is unreviewable?” asked Judge Michelle Friedland in apparent disbelief. Later, she cited evidence offered by the states of Washington and Minnesota, which filed the suit, that Trump’s order was a camouflaged version of his call during the presidential campaign for a ban on Muslim immigration.
Judge William Canby chimed in, asking Flentje: “Could the president simply say in the order, ‘We’re not going to let any Muslims in?’”
MORE...
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Court-hints-at-keeping-Trump-order-on-hold-10915838.php