GOP lawmakers get behind Trump immigration order reboot amid new legal threats

Republican lawmakers largely endorsed President Trump’s revised immigration executive order on Monday and suggested it addressed concerns they had about the original measure, even as a coalition of Democratic attorneys general and civil rights groups prepared for a new round of legal action.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had voiced reservations about the original travel ban rollout, said the new version advances “our shared goal” of protecting the United States.
Another Republican critical of the original version, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, said he believes the revised order will “pass legal muster.”
“I congratulate the administration for modifying the original order to ensure that it is prospective in application, protective of those with valid visas and legal status, and exempts Iraqis, as five thousand Americans are currently fighting alongside them against ISIL,” Graham said in a statement.
Trump’s revised executive order, signed Monday, suspends the refugee program and entry to the U.S. for travelers from six mostly Muslim countries, curtailing what was a broadly worded directive in a bid to withstand court scrutiny.
As before, the order will suspend refugee entries for 120 days. But it no longer will suspend Syrian refugee admissions indefinitely.
The new order also will ban travelers from six countries who did not obtain a visa before Jan. 27 from entering the United States for 90 days. The directive no longer includes Iraq, as the original order did, but covers travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Iraq, a key U.S. ally in the fight against terror group ISIS, was removed from the travel ban list after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he spoke with the Iraqi government about its vetting process and felt that the screening system was thorough enough to stand on its own.
As Republican lawmakers threw their political weight behind the revised version, Democratic officials in Washington, Virginia and Massachusetts said they were considering their next legal steps.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who took the Trump administration to court over the constitutionality of the original order, said Monday he still has legal concerns about the updated language.
At a news conference, he said he and his office will review the policy and will decide on a course of action later this week.
“I do not take lightly suing the president of the United States,” he said.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she’s also considering legal options in response to the reworked travel ban. Healy called the newest language misguided and said it is “a clear attempt to resurrect a discredited order and fulfill a discriminatory and unconstitutional campaign promise.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who also led a legal challenge to Trump’s first ban, said the new directive still “sends a horrible message to the world.”
"Our goal has always been to protect the commonwealth of Virginia and our residents who were harmed by President Trump's ill-conceived, poorly-implemented, and un-American ban, particularly green card holders and those at our businesses and colleges with valid work and student visas,” he said. “It is significant that after we won the nation's first preliminary injunction against the ban, President Trump has now revoked his original order and apparently exempted all those persons from his revised order."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling the revision a betrayal of the country’s core values.
“The legal grounds of the first travel ban were questionable at best, and today’s iteration is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing – different packaging intended to achieve the same result,” Emanuel said in a statement, adding that the order would “slam the door” on refugees fleeing war-torn countries.
Unlike the first rocky rollout of the executive order, Trump privately signed the new directive while Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly formally unveiled it. The Trump-free event was in contrast to the first version of the order that the president signed in a high-profile ceremony at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes.
Tillerson defended the new order on Monday, saying Trump is using “his rightful authority” to keep people safe with the new directive.
“This order is part of our ongoing efforts to eliminate vulnerabilities that radical Islamic terrorists can and will exploit,” he added.
Kelly said the new executive order “will make America more secure.”
“Unvetted travel isn’t a privilege especially when national security is at stake,” he said.
Among other things, the revised order also makes clear that green card holders are not affected.
“If you have travel documents, if you actually have a visa, if you are a legal permanent resident, you are not covered under this particular executive action,” White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on Monday. “I think people will see six or seven major points about this executive order that do clarify who is covered.”
The Trump administration also plans to cap the number of refugees it accepts to 50,000 a year – down sharply from the 110,000 accepted by the Obama administration.
According to the new executive order, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will have 20 days to perform a “global, country-by-country review of the identity and security information that each country provides to the U.S. government to support U.S. visa and other immigration benefit determinations.”
Countries will then have 50 days to comply with requests to update or improve the “quality” of the information they provide to U.S. officials.
For countries that don’t comply, the State Department, DHS and intelligence agencies can make additional recommendations on what, if any, restrictions should be imposed.
The new order also details categories of people eligible to enter the United States for business or medical travel purposes.
Almost immediately, there was pushback from Democratic lawmakers and human rights groups.
“A watered down ban is still a ban,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “Despite the administration’s changes, this dangerous executive order makes us less safe, not more, it is mean-spirited, and un-American. It must be repealed.”
Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, agreed.
“President Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination, and he can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people,” he said in a statement.
More than two dozen lawsuits were filed in response to the original travel ban. The suit filed in Washington state succeeded in having the order suspended by arguing that it violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination.
The White House was criticized the first time around for its rocky rollout of the travel ban. Trump has expressed frustration both in person and on social media over the stalled ban, at times targeting the courts and federal judges who he claimed put the country at risk by holding up the order.
Last week, Trump told reporters at the White House that “the new order is going to be very much tailored to what I consider to be a very bad decision.”
Despite widespread belief the first order was done in haste, Trump and other White House officials have repeatedly called it a success.

Trump offers Planned Parenthood funds if it halts abortions

President Trump has offered to maintain federal funding for Planned Parenthood if the group stops providing abortions. Its president has spurned the proposal and noted that federal money already is not allowed to be used for abortion.
Trump confirmed there had been discussions after The New York Times inquired about what it described as an informal proposal. In a statement to the newspaper, Trump says "there is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women's health, while not providing abortion services."
The paper reported that, in private conversations, White House officials mentioned that there could even be an increase in federal funds if Planned Parenthood stopped work related to abortions.
There is reportedly an internal struggle amongst Republicans about how to approach the abortion issue. Trump has, during the primary, mentioned what he sees as some of the positive work Planned Parenthood does.
“Millions and millions of women—cervical cancer, breast cancer—are helped by Planned Parenthood,” he said during a televised debate, according to the report. “I would defund it because I’m pro-life, but millions of women are helped by Planned Parenthood.
In a response to the report of the proposal, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards says the group "will always stand for women's ability to make decisions about their health and lives, without interference from politicians."
According to their own annual report, Planned Parenthood saw 2.5 million clients in 2015, which is down from 3.1 million in 2006. While that number may seem high, it means that 98 percent of women of reproductive age will never step foot inside a Planned Parenthood in any given year for health care.
Diane Max, a big donor to Planned Parenthood, told The Times that the reported offer is an “absurd play.” Trump, she said, had been “sympathetic to a woman’s right to choose until it was politically unpopular” for him.

THAAD deployment threat stokes US tensions with Beijing, Moscow

The U.S. decision to send equipment needed to set up a controversial missile defense system in South Korea is likely to add to the tensions among Beijing and Moscow, countries that have spoken out in the past about deploying the system.
China said Tuesday that it will take measures against US missile system deployed in S. Korea, says US and Seoul will bear consequences.
"China firmly opposes the deployment of THAAD," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. "We will definitely be taking necessary measures to safeguard our own security interest. All consequences entailed from that will be borne by the U.S. and (South Korea). We once again strongly urge the relevant sides to stop the process of deployment and refrain from going further down that wrong path."
Lou Yuan, an outspoken, retired Chinese general, wrote in the Global Times, a state-run paper, that the Chinese military “could conduct a surgical hard-kill operation that would destroy the target, paralyzing it and making it unable to hit back,” The New York Times reported.
He went on, “Since the United States, Japan and South Korea choose not to respect China’s major security concerns, China does not need to be a gentleman on everything."
Washington and Seoul says the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, is not meant to be a threat to China or Russia. The U.S. military said in a statement that THAAD can intercept and destroy short and medium range ballistic missiles during the last part of their flights.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul’s Dongguk University, told The Korean Times that it is “apparent that China is trying to draw its two Cold War allies to its side, at least over THAAD-related issues. It will also highlight the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. as well as their ties with Japan as part of tactics against THAAD.”
On Monday, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles in an apparent protest against ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The missiles flew about 620 miles on average, three of them landing in waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, according to South Korean and Japanese officials.
But China and Russia see the system’s powerful radars as a security threat.
An official from South Korea's Defense Ministry, who didn't want to be named, citing office rules, said that the equipment that arrived in South Korea included launchers, but didn't confirm how many.
While South Korea's media speculate that the THAAD deployment could be completed by as early as April, the ministry official couldn't confirm those reports. The official said that the plan was to have the system operational as soon as possible.
China's condemnation of South Korean plans to deploy THAAD has triggered protests against South Korean retail giant, Lotte, which agreed to provide one of its golf courses in southern South Korea as the site of THAAD. The South Korean government also raised worries about a reported ban on Chinese tour groups visiting the country.
On Tuesday, China's Global Times, an outspoken nationalist tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's flagship People's Daily, criticized North Korea over the missiles.
"By firing four missiles at once this time, the military confrontation between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington escalates a notch," the paper said. "Noticeably, the Chinese public is angry that Pyongyang's nuclear program has provided an excuse for Seoul to deploy THAAD."

FBI Comey Cartoons

Conway challenges Comey to release info on Trump's wiretap allegation

Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway challenged FBI Director James Comey Sunday to reveal any information he might have about President Trump’s allegations that former President Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“If Mr. Comey has something he’d like to say I’m sure we’re all willing to hear it,” Conway told Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro in an interview on “Justice with Judge Jeanine.” “All I saw was a published news report. I didn’t see a statement from him. I don’t know what Mr. Comey knows.
“If he knows, of course he can issue a statement,” Conway said. “We know he’s not shy.”
Conway said Trump may know whether he was wiretapped because he receives different intelligence reports than other White House officials. However, she did not provide specific details.
Conway’s challenge of Comey came after the New York Times reported that the FBI director asked the Justice Department to publicly reject Trump’s assertion that he had been wiretapped. According to the paper, Comey argued that Trump’s claim falsely implied that the FBI had broken the law.
Earlier Sunday, Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that nothing matching Trump's claims had taken place.
"Absolutely, I can deny it," said Clapper, who also said that he had “no knowledge” of a request for a FISA, or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Act, order for a wiretap, which requires at least some evidence of illegal activity.
Josh Earnest, who was Obama’s press secretary, took it a step further, saying that Trump’s accusations were an attempt to deflect the attention given to contacts between then-Sen. Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign season. The FBI is investigating those contacts, as is Congress.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said without elaborating Sunday that Trump's instruction to Congress was based on "very troubling" reports "concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election." Spicer did not respond to inquiries about the reports he cited in announcing the request.
Spicer said the White House wants the congressional committees to "exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016." He said there would be no further comment until the investigations are completed, a statement that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., took offense to and likened to autocratic behavior.
"It's called a wrap-up smear. You make up something. Then you have the press write about it. And then you say, everybody is writing about this charge. It's a tool of an authoritarian," Pelosi said.
Spicer's chief deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said she thinks Trump is "going off of information that he's seen that has led him to believe that this is a very real potential."
Sources told Fox News that Trump’s allegations caught senior federal law enforcement officials by surprise.
Those sources said that the officials in question had no idea what Trump was talking about when the president made the allegation on social media Saturday morning. The sources also told Fox that Trump did not consult with senior officials who would have been advised of any such wiretapping operations before posting the messages.

House Judiciary Committee Dems to ask WH counsel for details of communications with FBI, DOJ

Several Democrats on the House Judiciary plan to send a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn on Monday, urging him to release information on communications between his office and the FBI and Justice Department.
“We write to express our concern regarding reports of improper contacts between your office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, concerning the FBI’s ongoing review of efforts by the Russian government to unlawfully influence the U.S. presidential election in favor of Mr. Trump,” a draft of the letter reads.
The letter details the weekend’s events surrounding President Trump’s allegation that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the presidential election. The lawmakers say that reports of contact between McGahn’s office and federal law enforcement were “more troubling.”
The letter cites reports that chief of staff Reince Priebus asked the FBI Director James Comey to dispute media reports that Trump’s campaign advisers were in frequent touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election.
“If these reports are accurate, then these communications are both inappropriate and in violation of Department of Justice guidance,” the lawmakers write.
The lawmakers demand McGahn provide information of “any and all contacts or other communications (including phone contacts, emails, texts, voicemails, notes or other forms of contact, whether written, oral, or otherwise) between anyone employed by or associated with the White House and any official or representative of the FBI or the Department of Justice, relating to any investigation into Russian interference in the recent presidential election and any related matter” by March 24.
The letter was co-signed by Reps. John Conyers Jr., Mich., Jerrold Nadler, N.Y., Steve Cohen, Tenn., Hank Johnson, Ga., Ted Deutch, Fla., Luis Gutierrez, Ill., Ted Lieu, Calif., and Jamie Raskin, Md.
Trump has provided no evidence that Trump Tower was wiretapped during the presidential election. Sources told Fox News that senior federal law enforcement officials were thrown off by the tweets.
Those sources said that the officials in question had no idea what Trump was talking about when the president made the allegation on social media Saturday morning. The sources also told Fox that Trump did not consult with senior officials who would have been advised of any such wiretapping operations before posting the messages.

Text of ObamaCare replacement bill coming this week, source says

Rep. Buddy Carter shares preview of GOP health care plan

Top Republican lawmakers plan to release the text of their bill to replace ObamaCare this week, a GOP aide told Fox News late Sunday.
The aide said staffers met with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Friday to resolve outstanding issues with the bill. Health care committees from both houses of Congress worked with the White House to tie up any loose ends.
The aide added that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price and Mulvaney took part in a conference call Saturday to help "close out open issues."
"We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people," said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong.
Earlier Sunday, House Republicans tried to staunch criticism about a secretive and stalled process by revealing some specifics and vowing the full bill would soon be available for review.
“This plan will be out next week, and everybody will have a chance to see it,” Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter, a pharmacy owner and Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a physician with his own ObamaCare replacement plan, last week staged a media event in the Capitol building -- complete with a portable copy machine -- to find a draft of what he called House Republican leadership’s “secret” bill.
Ryan has dismissed such allegations by Paul and congressional Democrats, vowing last week that the bill would go through an open committee process.
The Wisconsin lawmaker and other top House Republicans have also insisted that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which associates costs with the bill, knows the details of the measure and claimed that revealing too much information could give critics an opportunity to defeat the bill before it’s even made public.
Essentially every elected Washington Republican, including President Trump, campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare amid increasing consumer costs and dwindling options.
However, Americans are concerned that repeal efforts will result in roughly 11 million people losing their health care coverage without a replacement.
Carter said that under the new plan, Americans with pre-existing medical conditions will qualify for coverage, like they did under President Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act.
He also said the replacement plan will still allow young adults to stay on their parents’ plans and include health saving accounts, which he described as “stalwarts” features.
Carter, whose Commerce committee will be a key House panel in reviewing the ObamaCare draft bill, also said insurance plans won’t be limited to the states in which they were bought and that ObamaCare’s so-called “individual mandate, or penalty for not buying insurance, will not be included.
“We've said we're trying to get a plan that is more accessible, more affordable and that's patient centered,” Carter said. “That's the key.”

Trump to reportedly sign revised travel ban order

100% Americanized?

A revised executive order temporarily banning the entry of people from several Middle Eastern and African countries and halting the nation’s refugee program is set to go to President Trump on Monday, a White House official said.
The White House official spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The administration has repeatedly pushed back the signing of the new executive order as it has worked to better coordinate with agencies that it will need to implement the ban. The new order has been in the works since shortly after a federal court blocked Trump’s initial effort.
Trump was elected in November in large part on a national security platform that included stronger U.S. borders and putting an end to ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups.
One of his first official acts after taking office in late-January was to sign executive orders that temporarily halted the U.S. refugee program and travel from seven mostly-Muslim, Middle Eastern and African countries.
The orders have been held up in a federal appeals court since early-February, with Trump weighing his options but making clear as recently as last week that he fully intends to fulfill his campaign pledge.
“The vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country,” Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress last week.
“It is not compassionate, but reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur,” he said.  “We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America. And we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists … That is why my administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe.”
The federal appeals court temporarily blocked parts of Trump’s executive orders and halted the travel ban, then denied the administration’s request to immediately lift the ban. Critics of the ban argue it was hastily crafted with parts lacking adequate constitutional authority.
To be sure, uncertainty about the status of green card holders caused confusion and sparked major protests at international airports across the country on the Saturday after Trump signed the executive order, which was followed by administration officials promptly issuing guidance on legal permanent U.S. residents, or green card holders, to exempt them from the ban.
According to a draft version of the new order outlined to lawmakers late last week, citizens of Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya will face a 90-day suspension of visa processing as the administration continues to analyze how to enhance vetting procedures.
The revised order is expected to remove Iraq from the list of countries that would be subject to a 90-day travel ban. That follows pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider, given Iraq's key role in fighting ISIS.
Other changes are also expected, including making clear that all existing visas will be honored and no longer singling out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban. Syrian refugees will now be treated like other refugees and be subjected to a 120-day suspension of the refugee program.
The new version is also expected to remove language that would give priority to religious minorities. Critics had accused the administration of adding such language to help Christians get into the United States while excluding Muslims.