Appeals Court Panel Appears Skeptical of Trump’s Travel Ban -
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department lawyer on Tuesday said courts should not second-guess President Trump’s targeted travel ban, drawing
skepticism from a three-judge federal appeals panel weighing the limits of executive authority in cases of national security.
He asked, at a minimum, for the court to reinstate a part of the ban against people
who have never been in the United States, calling this a “really key point.”
Reading from a brief, he conceded that those who could be allowed entry are “previously admitted aliens
who are temporarily abroad now or who wish to travel and return to the United States in the future.”
Judge Clifton said that the administration might be in a better position to narrow its executive order.
“Could the president simply say in the order, ‘We’re not going to let any Muslims in?’”
Mr. Flentje said the two states that have sued over Mr. Trump’s executive order, Washington
and Minnesota, would be powerless to challenge that scenario.
The case, State of Washington v. Trump, is in its earliest stages,
and the question for the appeals court on Tuesday was a narrow one: Should it stay Judge Robart’s temporary restraining order and reinstate the travel ban while the case proceeds?