A TIPSHEET ON TRUMP’S SCOTUS TWEETS
June 5, 2017
ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A LADY
|For the third time in the past few weeks, the Supreme Court took action on a voting rights dispute in North Carolina, affirming today a decision striking down many General Assembly districts in the state for relying too heavily on race. The state of North Carolina has now seen both legislative and congressional districts rejected by federal courts for their emphasis on racial demographics.
HELLO, IT'S ME
|This morning, the justices agreed to hear a case about whether police need warrants to review cellphone tower records that help them track the location of criminal suspects. This is an issue courts have been wrestling with for years, and the most relevant Supreme Court case on the subject is nearly 40 years old — before the dawn of the digital age.
TWEETS DU JOUR
|From @realDonaldTrump — “People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!”
Anotha one
|from @realDonaldTrump — “The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.”
And anotha
|“The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!”
Right when you thought that was it
|“In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!”
QUICK AND DIRTY
|Mr. President doubled down today on his executive order barring visitors from six Muslim-majority countries, tweeting and asking his legal aides to get a quick review of what he is proudly calling his “travel ban.” This morning’s Twitter barrage follows another series of statements PRESIDENT TRUMP made over the weekend when he advocated for the controversial crackdown on immigration in light of the terror attack that took place in London just two days ago.
FOOT, FIND MOUTH
|Matt Zapotosky with The Washington Post reports, “The president’s tweets could significantly damage his administration’s effort to restore the [travel] ban, which has been put on hold by two federal courts.” Briefs are to be filed next week with the Supreme Court, and it’s likely that today’s comments from The Donald will be part of those briefs.
RAWR KITTY
|Zapotosky also notes that TRUMP’S comments on Twitter received some big-time responses, namely from the lawyer who argued for the challengers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. NEAL KATYAL, @neal_katyal — “Its kinda odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel. We don’t need the help but will take it!”
WILL THE WINNER FINALLY WIN?
|“Has the President finally found a court that will endorse the legal underpinnings of the travel ban and allow it to go into effect?” CNN’s Ariane de Vogue considers the likelihood of DONALD TRUMP’S travel ban going the distance with SCOTUS. Note, her piece came out before today’s Twitter storm.
ON THE ROAD
|Speaking before an audience at Harvard University, the Supreme Court’s newest justice, NEIL M. GORSUCH, expressed concern for growing skepticism about the rule of law. The little knowledge schoolchildren possess about the Constitution, he says, is “appalling.” He also added, “I know there is a lot of cynicism about government and the rule of law today but I don’t share it.”
TODAY IN HISTORY
|On this day in 1950, the Supreme Court, in Henderson v. United States, struck down racially segregated railroad dining cars.
SCOTUS VIEWS
The Key Word for Travel Ban is 'Animus'
Bloomberg“Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to consider President Donald Trump’s travel ban, there’s one word you need to focus on: animus. In legalese, it means an illegitimate prejudice.”
OTHER NEWS
Religious Hospitals Win Pension Clash at U.S. Supreme Court
Bloomberg“Religious hospitals won a multibillion-dollar U.S. Supreme Court clash, as the court said they can invoke an exemption from the federal rules that govern most private pension plans.”
Justices Limit Recovery in Securities Fraud Cases
The Associated Press“The Supreme Court on Monday made it tougher for the government to recover ill-gotten gains from people convicted of securities fraud, ruling that such recoveries are subject to a five-year statute of limitations.”
The Trump Administration's Lonely Voice for Human Rights
POLITICO“Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has pointedly made human rights, along with humanitarian assistance, a central focus of her agenda, putting her at odds with Trump as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.”