Courts block Trump's US travel ban again

SBS World News Radio: Courts block Trump's US travel ban again

Courts block Trump's US travel ban again

Courts block Trump's US travel ban again

The Trump administration has suffered another legal defeat in its efforts to introduce a travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority nations.

It comes as Attorney-General Jeff Sessions prepares to testify in the investigation into Russian interference in last year's election.

And Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka has told US television there's a level of viciousness in Washington she wasn't expecting.

Last week, it was sacked FBI director James Comey's turn to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington.

Now, it will be Attorney-General Jeff Session's turn in the latest twist on possible ties between Russian officials and President Donald Trump's campaign in the 2016 election.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has faced a barrage of questions, first on whether tapes of White House conversations between President Trump and James Comey exist.

(Spicer:) "The President make clear in the Rose Garden last week that he would have an announcement shortly."

(Reporter:) "Any sort of timeline on when the announcement will be?"

(Spicer:) "When the President's ready to make it."

(Reporter:) "What role did Attorney-General Jeff Sessions play in the firing of James Comey?"

(Spicer:) "I'm not going to discuss private conversations between the President and the Attorney-General."

(Reporter:) "What does the President think about the fact that Sessions will be testifying tomorrow and, according to the Department of Justice, wanted to testify in an open session rather than a closed, classified session?"

(Spicer:) "I think the President has been clear last week in the Rose Garden that he believes that the sooner we can get this addressed and dealt with, that there's been no collusion ... he wants this to get investigated as soon as possible and be done with it so he can continue with the business of the American people."

But questions remain, such as, "Was Jeff Sessions himself involved in the firing of James Comey after he had recused himself from the Russia probe he was meant to be leading?"

And in another setback, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Hawaii judge's earlier ruling that President Trump's executive order on the travel ban did violate the constitution.

The White House argues the ban is necessary to keep the United States safe from potential terrorists.

But the court has determined its primary purpose was to turn away Muslims.

University of California law professor David Levine says Congressional directives were not followed.

"There were insufficient findings, factual findings, as to why the order was necessary, and there was not enough consultation within the appropriate agencies and with Congress itself."

He argues Donald Trump is exceeding his authority.

"The bottom-line conclusion of nearly every judge to look at this is that the President exceeded his authority. You have to remember that we elected a president of the United States. We did not elect a king. We did not elect an emperor. We elected someone who is supposed to act within the bounds of the rule of law."

Amid the continuing controversy, President Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, has expressed surprise at the atmosphere she has found in Washington in his early months in office.

"There's a level of viciousness that I was not expecting. I was not expecting the intensity of this experience."

Appearing on the Fox network, she added her father felt vindicated by the testimony of James Comey, the former FBI director, last week.

"We want to do big, bold things, and we're looking to change the status quo. So, I didn't expect it to be easy. I think some of the distractions and some of the ... the ferocity was ... I was a little blindsided by, on a personal level."

But Republican senator Lindsey Graham has this message for Donald Trump. "What the President did was inappropriate, but here's what's so frustrating for Republicans like me: You may be the first president in history to go down because you can't stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that, if you just were quiet, would clear you."

 

 

 

 






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4 min read
Published 13 June 2017 3:00pm

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