Conservative Blogger
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Trump lashes out at latest travel ban ruling: 'It makes us look weak!'
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| Snowflakes |
"This ruling makes us look weak," Trump thundered at a rally in Nashville, Tenn., before vowing that he would "fight this terrible ruling ... as far as it needs to go, including all the way up to the Supreme Court."
A temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson was made public approximately an hour before Trump took the stage in front of a raucous crowd of placard-waving supporters.
"Let me give you the bad news, the sad news," Trump told his audience about the decision, later adding "and I have to be nice, otherwise I'll get criticized for speaking poorly about our courts."
The order before Watson on Wednesday was a revised version of an earlier order, which temporarily suspended the U.S. refugee program and barred the entry of people from six Muslim-majority countries. More than half a dozen states were attempting to prevent the latest ban from taking effect early Thursday.
"This new order was tailored to the dictates of the Ninth Circuit's, in my opinion, flawed ruling," Trump said. "This is, in the opinion of many, an unprecedented judicial overreach.
"The law and the Constitution," the president argued to a cheering crowd, "give the president the power to suspend immigration when he deems -- or she ... deems it to be in the national interest of our country."
On Air Force One late Wednesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration stood by the initial executive order, which was halted by the appeals court last month.
"We believed the first one was accurate," Spicer said, "[and] the second one was literally tailored to the court ruling." The spokesman said he did not know what the administration's next steps would be.
The travel ban was one of many topics Trump touched on during the campaign-style rally, including his joint effort with House Republicans to replace ObamaCare.
At one point, Trump invoked Tennessee native Andrew Jackson, a fellow populist outsider, and said the seventh president "understood that real leadership means putting America first."
Earlier Wednesday, the president laid a wreath at Andrew Jackson's tomb to mark the 250th anniversary of the former president's birth, and toured the Hermitage, Jackson's home.
"We're keeping our promises," said Trump, noting that he's more than halfway through the 100-day measure by which new presidents are judged. "And we have just gotten started. Wait till you see what's coming, folks."
On the flight back to Washington, he said he hoped to hold rallies "every two weeks. I mean, these are great people."
Tillerson: Asia allies 'critical' for addressing North Korean threat
TOKYO – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday cooperation with allies Japan and South Korea is "critical" to addressing the threat from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Tillerson was speaking as he met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on his first trip to Asia as the top U.S. diplomat.
North Korea is expected to top the agenda at Tillerson's talks in Tokyo. Last week, North Korea test-fired four missiles that landed in ocean off Japan.
Tillerson will meet later Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan and South Korea both host tens of thousands of U.S. troops. Washington has been urging the two nations to step security cooperation despite their historically strained relations. This week, the nations' three navies have conducted missile defense information-sharing drills in the region
Tillerson said that strengthening U.S. relations with Japan and trilateral cooperation among all three "is critical in particular as we address North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."
Kishida said the fact that Japan was Tillerson's first stop showed the importance Washington attaches to the relationship. He said the U.S. and Japan had an "unwavering bond."
On Friday, Tillerson travels to South Korea, where U.S. forces are engaged in annual military drills that have angered Pyongyang.
He then goes to China. Washington wants Beijing to exert more pressure on North Korea over its provocative behavior.
Federal judge in Hawaii halts Trump travel ban
President Trump's revised travel ban was put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge in Hawaii just hours before it was set to take effect after hearing arguments that the executive order discriminates on the basis of nationality.
Trump addressed the judge’s move during a rally in Nashville, Tennessee calling it “unprecedented judicial overreach” and vowed to fight.
"We're going to win. We're going to keep our citizens safe," Trump said. "The danger is clear. The law is clear. The need for my executive order is clear."
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson prevents the executive order from going into effect, at least for now. Hawaii had requested a temporary restraining order.
"Enforcement of these provisions in all places, including the United States, at all United States borders and ports of entry, and in the issuance of visas is prohibited, pending further orders from this Court," Watson wrote in his ruling.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL RULING.
In a statement released late Wednesday night the Department of Justice said they strongly disagreed with the ruling and called the move "flawed both in reasoning and scope."
"The President’s Executive Order falls squarely within his lawful authority in seeking to protect our Nation’s security, and the Department will continue to defend this Executive Order in the courts," said DOJ Spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores.
The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries.
More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments about whether it should be put into practice early Thursday.
Hawaii also argued to the court that the ban would prevent residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six countries covered by the order. The state says the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers.
Senator Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, welcomed the ruling and said “Judge Watson exemplifies the importance of an independent judiciary.”
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called the travel ban "bad policy" and praised Attorney General Doug Chin for stopping the order.
In Maryland, attorneys told a federal judge that the measure still discriminates against Muslims.
"It doesn't say anything about religion. It doesn't draw any religious distinctions," Jeffrey Wall, who argued for the Justice Department, said in court.
Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump's statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called the order "yet another victory."
"President Trump's second executive order is just a Muslim Ban by another name - with the same unlawful and unconstitutional goal of discriminating based on religion and national origin," he said in a statement.
Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has previously said the revised order was designed to have "the same basic policy outcome" as the first.
The latest version of the ban details more of a national security rationale. It is narrower and eases some concerns about violating the due-process rights of travelers, appyling only to new visas from Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program. It does not apply to travelers who already have visas.
"Generally, courts defer on national security to the government," said U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. "Do I need to conclude that the national security purpose is a sham and false?"
In response, ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat pointed to Miller's statement and said the government had put out misleading and contradictory information about whether banning travel from six specific countries would make the nation safer.
The Maryland lawsuit also argues that it's against federal law for the Trump administration to reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year by more than half, from 110,000 to 50,000. Attorneys argued that if that aspect of the ban takes effect, 60,000 people would be stranded in war-torn countries with nowhere else to go.
In the Hawaii case, the federal government said there was no need to issue an emergency restraining order because Hawaii officials offered only "generalized allegations" of harm.
Jeffrey Wall of the Office of the Solicitor General challenged Hawaii's claim that the order violates due-process rights of Ismail Elshikh as a U.S. citizen who wants his mother-in-law to visit his family from Syria. He says courts have not extended due-process rights outside of a spousal relationship.
Neal Katyal, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Hawaii, called the story of Elshiskh, an Egyptian immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, "the story of America."
In Washington state, U.S. District Judge James Robart -- who halted the original ban last month -- heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which is making arguments similar to the ACLU's in the Maryland case.
Robart said he is most interested in two questions presented by the group's challenge to the ban: whether the ban violates federal immigration law, and whether the affected immigrants would be "irreparably harmed" should the ban go into effect.
He spent much of Wednesday afternoon's hearing grilling the lawyers about two seeming conflicting federal laws on immigration -- one which gives the president the authority to keep "any class of aliens" out of the country, and another that forbids the government from discriminating on the basis of nationality when it comes to issuing immigrant visas.
Robart said he would issue a written order, but he did not say when. He is also overseeing the challenge brought by Washington state.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson argues that the new order harms residents, universities and businesses, especially tech companies such as Washington state-based Microsoft and Amazon, which rely on foreign workers. California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon have joined the claim.
Washington and Hawaii say the order also violates the First Amendment, which bars the government from favoring or disfavoring any religion. On that point, they say, the new ban is no different than the old. The states' First Amendment claim has not been resolved.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the original ban but did not rule on the discrimination claim.
EPA, State Department prepare for cuts under Trump's budget, report says
President Trump’s budget plan for fiscal 2018 increases defense spending and cuts funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department, Reuters reported, citing a congressional source.
Trump's first budget-- which is set to be released on Thursday at 7 a.m. ET-- will reportedly cut 28 percent out of the State Department's funding and about 31 percent from the EPA, which The New York Times reported is arguably the hardest hit.
Scott Pruitt, the EPA administrator, who at times has spoken out against the agency, reportedly asked the White House for about $7 billion in funding, but was denied. The White house reportedly cut the funding futher to $5.7 billion.
VIDEO: PREVIEWING TRUMP'S PROPOSED BUDGET
The saved money is expected to cover an anticipated $54 billion increase in Defense Department spending and a small increase to homeland security.
Although Republicans control both the House and the Senate, Trump’s “skinny budget” is likely to face political hurdles. Last month, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called Trump’s original plan to cut the State Department’s budget by 37 percent “dead on arrival.” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has also criticized the cuts to the State Department.
Roughly $1 trillion of Trump’s overall estimated $4 trillion annual federal budget goes to Cabinet agencies and departments.
The specific details of the programs or jobs that are on the chopping block are not released until well after the initial budget is submitted. The House appropriations subcommittees reviewed Trump’s plan late Wednesday.
The Times reported that members said there is to be cuts to decades-old food programs for poor countries and the complete elimination of the Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program, which reportedly subsidizes flight to rural airports in the country.
SENATE DEMOCRATS THREATEN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The Times reported that the cuts are expected to affect Amtrak and public education. The plan will reportedly phase out federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told Fox News that the budget was written using Trump's “own words” during the campaign. He said the plan does not balance the budget, but it also does not add to the deficit. Mulvaney said the budget will include $1.5 billion for the border wall, as a starting point.
A former OMB official told Reuters that the Trump administration is really “cutting into bone.” Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told Reuters that Trump’s budget is unusually skinny, possibly “emaciated.”
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Grassley holds up Deputy AG nomination until he hears from Comey on Russia
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that he will not permit President Trump’s nomination for deputy attorney general until members of the committee are briefed by FBI Director James Comey on Moscow’s involvement in last year’s election.
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, halted the nomination of Rod Rosenstein, a longtime U.S. attorney for Maryland. Rosenstein, the pick for the No. 2 position at the Justice Department, said earlier this month that he was not aware of any requirement that he recuse himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. But he said he was open to appointing a special counsel to look into the matter if he ultimately determined it appropriate.
“Here’s what I’ve done: the Justice Department would like to get their deputy out of committee just as soon as they can,” Grassley told reporters at the Capitol, according to Politico. “I’m not going to schedule a hearing on the deputy attorney general until we get a briefing from Comey.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself last week from any investigations touching the Trump campaign following revelations of his undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador. That move means the Russia inquiry would be under Rosenstein's watch.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said at Tuesday’s hearing that Rosenstein has “impressive credentials” and she does not question his “integrity.” But she said, “We need steel spines and there is a real danger the Justice Department could become politicized.”
Trump 2005 tax files released by MSNBC, White House rips ‘desperate’ story
In another major leak for the White House, MSNBC on Tuesday night released a portion of President Trump's 2005 tax documents – drawing a stern rebuke from the administration.
Host Rachel Maddow said the two-page summary of Trump’s federal return for that year was first obtained by journalist David Cay Johnston, who gave MSNBC a first look at the documents.
It is unclear who leaked them. Johnston, with the website DCReport.org, said only that he found the documents “in the mail.”
Citing the files, they said Trump made $153 million that year and paid $36.5 million in taxes, which Johnston suggested was relatively low and the result of a benefit.
The return shows the then-real estate mogul also reported a business loss of $103 million that year, although the documents don't provide detail. The forms show that Trump paid an effective tax rate of 24.5 percent, a figure well above the roughly 10 percent the average American taxpayer forks over each year, but below the 27.4 percent that taxpayers earning 1 million dollars a year average, according to data from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
The White House pre-emptively pushed back minutes before the on-air report, saying that publishing the returns would be illegal.
"You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago,” a senior administration official said in a statement.
The official added it is "totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns."
The statement also acknowledged Trump made over $150 million that year, while saying he paid $38 million in income taxes – noting he had a responsibility to his company and family “to pay no more tax than legally required.” The statement said he also paid “tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that.”
Maddow countered that the return was "not illegally published,” and argued that MSNBC was exercising its First Amendment right to publish information in the public interest.
The unauthorized release or publishing of federal tax returns is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years in jail.
Trump's hefty business loss appears to be a continued benefit from his use of a tax loophole in the 1990s, which allowed him to deduct previous losses in future years. In 1995, Trump reported a loss of more than $900 million, largely as a result of financial turmoil at his casinos.
Tax records obtained by The New York Times last year showed the losses were so large they could have allowed Trump to avoid paying taxes for up to 18 years. But Trump's 2005 filing shows another tax prevented him from realizing the full benefit of those deductions.
The bulk of Trump's tax bill that year was due to the Alternative Minimum Tax, a tax aimed at preventing high-income earners from paying minimal taxes.
The AMT requires many taxpayers to calculate their taxes twice -- once under the rules for regular income tax and then again under AMT -- and then pay the higher amount. Critics say the tax has ensnared more middle-class people than intended, raising what they owe the federal government each year.
Were it not for the AMT, Trump would have avoided all but a few million dollars of his 2005 tax bill.
Trump's campaign website called for the end of the AMT, which is expected to bring in more than $350 billion in revenues from 2016 to 2025.
The report follows unsuccessful efforts by Democrats since the start of the 2016 presidential campaign to pressure Trump to release the documents. Last month, House Democrats even tried to force Trump to give them to Congress, only to be blocked by majority Republicans.
Maddow’s report also points to what could be another significant leak inside the federal government meant to embarrass the new president. In his first two months on the job, reports have surfaced with sensitive details about Trump’s calls with foreign leaders as well as details from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.
Trump last month blasted what he termed “illegal leaks.”
The president’s tax documents were a top target for critics throughout the 2016 race. Despite indications from Trump early on that he would follow a decades-long tradition of presidential nominees making their returns public, he later balked.
He cited an IRS audit as the reason he did not want to release the documents, while also saying at a September debate that he’d release them if Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton turned over the thousands of emails deleted from her private server.
She didn’t. In January, after Trump was sworn in, Counselor Kellyanne Conway told ABC’s “This Week” that Trump was not going to release the returns.
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