Trump Tweets His Way Into Legal Trouble
Matt Zapotosky reports at The Washington Post:
The president’s tweets could significantly damage his administration’s effort to restore the ban, which has been put on hold by two federal courts.
Next week, those suing are expected to file arguments on the matter with the Supreme Court, and Trump’s latest remarks will surely be a part of their briefs. The administration appealed to the nation’s highest court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the freeze on the ban last month.
Neal Katyal, the lawyer who argued for the challengers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, wrote on Twitter, “Its kinda odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel. We don’t need the help but will take it!” He also wrote that he was “waiting now for the inevitable cover-my-tweet posts from him that the Solicitor General will no doubt insist upon.”
Even George Conway, a prominent lawyer who recently took himself out of the running to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the husband of top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, posted on Twitter that the remarks might hurt the legal case.
“These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won’t help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad,” he wrote, using abbeviations for Office of Solicitor General and the Supreme Court.
