PHOTO: Judges Richard R. Clifton, William C. Canby Jr., and Michelle T. Friedland of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals (Ross D. Franklin/AP):
Developments on Day 19 of the Trump Administration:
*The Justice Department has faced a challenge to the Trump Administration’s “Muslim Ban”, in a telephone hearing before the three-judge 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Challenged over the Administration’s claim of executive authority in cases of national security, August E. Flentje, the Justice Department’s lawyer, said, “I’m not sure I’m convincing the court.”
See US Podcast: Explaining Trump’s Muslim Ban and the Courts
Flentje tried to argue that the President’s “traditional national security judgment” was “unreviewable” by courts. He also said the two states suing over the January 27 executive order, Washington and Minnesota, are powerless to challenge on national security grounds, although other plaintiffs might be able to sue on religious discrimination grounds.
Noah G. Purcell, Washington State’s solicitor general, was pressed by Judge Richard R. Clifton over evidence of religious discrimination. “The concern for terrorism with those connected with radical Islamic sects is kind of hard to deny,” the judge asserted.
The judges said they will “probably” make their decision this week, although it is unlikely today.
Meeting sheriffs on Tuesday, Trump maintained that he had to have the power to ban entry because the “Islamic State said it will infiltrate the country”: “This is common sense.” He indicated that the Administration will take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
*Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is confirmed on a tie-break vote by Vice President Mike Pence in the Senate.
After the initial 50-50 outcome, with two Republicans joining all 48 Democrats, Pence cast the decisive vote in his role as President of the Senate.
It was the first time that the Vice President has acted to ensure a confirmation of a Cabinet nominee. The last tie-breaking vote was by Dick Cheney on March 13, 2008, in a ballot over the federal budget.
DeVos, a Michigan billionaire, was challenged over her position on public v. private and charter schools and her poor performance in confirmation hearings, including alleged plagiarism in her statements.
Critics noted the contribution of about $900,000 by the DeVos family to Republican Senators who eventually voted for her on Tuesday.
*Trump offers to “destroy [the] career” of a Texas state legislator, during a meeting with county sheriffs.
The legislator has proposed restrictions on seizures of property belonging to suspected criminals.
“Do you want to give his name?” Trump asked Sheriff Harold Eavenson of Rockwall County, Texas. “We’ll destroy his career.”
The comment prompted laughter from participants in the meeting.
*At the session with sheriffs, Trump makes a false statement about the murder rate in the US.
The President told the sheriffs, “The murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.” He blamed the news media for not reporting this development then repeated, “But the murder rate is the highest it’s been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years.”
According to the FBI, the murder rate is close to that of the 1960s, having halved from 10.2 per 100,000 residents in 1980 to 4.9 in 2015. The number of homicides has declined from 19,645 in 1996 to 15,696 in 2015, even as the population rose from 265 million in 1996 to 321 million in 2015.
The violent crime rate in America also has more than halved between 1991 and 2015.
*White House advisor Sebastian Gorka declares that the Trump Administration will continue to tar the media with the term “fake news” until it understands that their “monumental desire” to attack the President is wrong.
The advisor made the remark to a conservative radio talk-show host. He apparently did not address the Administration’s repeated use of misinformation and disinformation, from the size of Donald Trump’s inaugural crowd to the President’s insistence on Monday — apparently drawn from the conspiracy site InfoWars — that journalists were deliberately not reporting on attacks by “radical Islamic terrorists”.
Gorka’s interview with CNN on Tuesday:
*In a case raising conflict-of-interest issues, the Department of Defense says it is seeking to rent space in the President’s New York skyscraper, Trump Tower.
The U.S. military agency is “working through appropriate channels…to acquire a limited amount of leased space in Trump Tower,” Lt. Col. J.B. Brindle, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement late Tuesday. “The space is necessary for the personnel and equipment who will support the POTUS at his residence in the building.”
A leasing agent estimated renting a floor in Trump Tower can cost about $1.5 million a year.
*The US Army will grant the final permit for the Dakota Access oil pipeline, after President Donald Trump’s executive order, to expedite the project despite opposition over possible environmental damage and the crossing of sacred Native American land.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the Army said that it would allow the final section of the $3.8 billion, 1,170-mile (1,885-km) pipeline to tunnel under North Dakota’s Lake Oahe, part of the Missouri River system.
Amid protests, the Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit for drilling under the river, as an environmental study was ordered.
