Travel ban arguments focus on Trump's comments about Muslims

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — A challenge to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban appears to hinge on whether a federal appeals court agrees that the Republican's past anti-Muslim statements can be used against him.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrestled Monday with whether the court should look beyond the text of the executive order to comments made by Trump and his aides on the campaign trail and after his election in order to determine whether the policy illegally targets Muslims.

"That's the most important issue in the whole case," said Judge Robert B. King, who was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton.

The panel of 13 judges peppered both sides with tough questions but gave few clues as to how they might rule. The judges did not immediately issue a decision on Monday.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/travel-ban-arguments-focus-on-trumps-comments-about-muslims/ar-BBARI2Y

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Next up. In EEO cases involving sexual harassment, the Trump EEOC will argue that courts must ignore a male supervisor's verbal proposition of sex for continued employment and instead focus on the employer's written reason for terminating a female employee. Also, ignore any recordings of workplace sexual conduct. The court should instead accept the written reason placed in the employee's personnel file.

[Princess Turandot]

1. Here's the SCOTUSblog's article on the hearing...

It's a long article; I just picked up the first and last paragraphs:

President’s statements at heart of challenge to travel ban

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit heard oral argument today in a challenge to the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 6. Citing the need to “protect the Nation from terrorist activities,” the order temporarily suspended new visas for travelers from six Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – as well as the admission of refugees into the United States. The March 6 order replaced a January 27 order that stalled in the federal courts, but a federal trial judge in Maryland put the new order on hold as well, leading to today’s appeal by the federal government. Lawyers representing the federal government and the challengers faced tough questions from virtually all of the 13 judges who participated in today’s hearing. When Chief Judge Roger Gregory finally gaveled the hearing to a close after more than two hours of argument, the challengers had reason to be optimistic, although the appeals court is likely to be sharply divided.

........

Next week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will hear argument in the government’s challenge to an order by a Hawaii judge blocking the implementation of the executive order. It is hard to predict when the two courts of appeals will issue their rulings, but the cases could move quickly to the Supreme Court after that.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/05/presidents-statements-heart-challenge-travel-ban/#more-255653

(emphasis added)

Trump's campaign page on his Muslim ban promises, which oddly enough was blanked out just this afternoon, was referenced in the hearing. (Not to worry: via the save-page-now function, users have caused the Internet Archive to capture its original content for posterity over 700 times since last November!)

[elleng]

2. Oral argument is probably available on c-span.

[Historic NY]

3. He scrubbed his campaign website of his muslim ban promises...

wayback machine preserved them.