Last week former President Obama’s classmate, Hawaii Judge Derrick Watson, once again blocked the implementation of the travel and visa restrictions put into place by President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security.
At the heart of the matter activist Judge Watson is demanding that Homeland Security permit as many foreign terrorists as possible be granted entry into the U.S.  According to the world-view that all occupants of planet earth are inherently future citizens of the United States, Judge Watson claims everyone should be allowed entry into the U.S. regardless of national security concerns.
It should be noted that Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and other GCC nations have initiated a total Muslim travel ban with Qatar…. meanwhile a U.S. judge frames the limited scope of President Trump’s ‘temporary travel restrictions‘ as overreach. Go figure.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the State of Hawaii to respond by Tuesday at noon to President Donald Trump’s motion to block a judge’s ruling that prevented his travel ban from being applied to grandparents of U.S. citizens and refugees already being processed by resettlement agencies, the court’s public information office said on Saturday.

(more…)

Well before most were discussing the possibility of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring from the court we anticipated he would.  In January we discussed the ramifications for Senator Schumer filibustering the nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court, and how politics was a land-mine if Schumer took that route.

The reasoning was simple.  Justice Anthony Kennedy wants to retire, and Justice Kennedy holds institutional and traditional reverence for the court far beyond politics.  Kennedy has previously showcased his disdain for politics and how it corrupts the court. Kennedy’s actual outlook is so steeped in judicial tradition he will defer, modify and delay his own personal interests if he senses a need to guard or protect the integrity of traditions within the court from the toxic infiltration of politics.

In all significant ways that matter, Justice Neil Gorsuch was/is more of an ideological replacement (high brow) for Kennedy than he was for Scalia, at least from the perspective of Kennedy.  We anticipated, somewhat based on how Senator Schumer acquitted himself, that Kennedy would retire with a successful Gorsuch appointment.

(more…)

So much winning. The Supreme Court is letting a version of the Trump administration ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries to take effect, a victory for President Donald Trump. In the decision to lift the stay the court outlined temporary limits to the ban based on status.

The court said Monday the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could be enforced as long as they lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The justices will hear arguments in the case in October. President Trump said last week the immigration and travel restrictions would take effect 72 hours after being cleared by courts.

#1: Agree to hear case:

[W]e grant both of the Government’s petitions for certiorari and consolidate the cases for argument.

#2: Agree to allow ban to continue:

We grant the Government’s applications to stay the injunctions, to the extent the injunctions prevent enforcement of §2(c) with respect to foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch said they would have let the complete bans take effect without any limits. (more…)

An important point before the details: ♦The hero in this entire constitutional story is Federal Judge Andrew Hanen (Full Backstory)♦

Yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced the DAPA program was officially rescinded:

(VIA DHS) On June 15, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, after consulting with the Attorney General, signed a memorandum rescinding the November 20, 2014 memorandum that created the program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (“DAPA”) because there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy. (link)

D.A.P.A or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program – was the executive action Obama attempted in November of 2014 which was shut down by Federal Judge Andrew Hanen in February 2015 with the issuance of an emergency injunction.

(more…)

President Trump will participate in a Rose Garden live stream ceremony for the swearing in of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch today at 11:00am (approx.)

Update Video Added:

(more…)

With Vice President Mike Pence presiding over the Senate Chamber, Judge Neil Gorsuch was confirmed by a vote of 54-45 as the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Neil Gorsuch now occupies the former Supreme Court seat of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Three Democrats, Joe Donnelly (Indiana), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia) voted in support of the confirmation, along with all senate republicans.  Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) did not vote as he is recovering from back surgery.

Despite a ridiculously false narrative of President Trump refusing to discuss Judge Gorsuch with Democrats in advance of his nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-9 to advance the nomination to the full Senate.

Throughout the last morning of Judiciary Committee statements, several Senators used the talking point that President Trump never consulted their party.  As you can see from this January 24th tweet below, that assertion is demonstrably false:

President Trump met with Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Chuck Schumer on January 24th, 2017, to hear their concerns and opinions prior to nominating Judge Gorsuch a week later on January 31st.

Today the judiciary committee voted along party lines.  All 11 Republicans voting for Gorsuch and all 9 Democrats voting against him.   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is expected to schedule a vote on Thursday to end a Democratic filibuster of Gorsuch, which would require 60 votes.

Democrat Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer appears with sleepy eyes Chuck Toad to discuss the confirmation of Supreme Court candidate Neil Gorsuch.

Senator Schumer ridiculously, and repeatedly, says his position is that President Trump should be meeting with Democrats to select the Republican SCOTUS nomination.

The bottom line is in the space between the words.  Schumer has no hope of blocking Gorsuch.  Everything else is political obfuscation and semantics:

.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell follows Schumer in the same discussion topic:

(more…)

President Trump delivers the weekly address from the White House:

(more…)

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have used a “holdover” rule to delay any vote on supreme court nominee Neil Gorsuch and Deputy Attorney General nominee Rod Rosenstein.   The Committee vote is now postponed one week and will take place April 3rd.
The Democrats are using every procedural rule possible to delay confirmation of any President Trump nominee.   Neil Gorsuch and Rosenstein are the latest exhibits.

♦ Rod Rosenstein is being delayed because he would be responsible to follow-up on the “Muh Russian” conspiracy narrative as AG Sessions has recused himself.  Rosenstein, 52, was appointed as Maryland’s top federal prosecutor by Republican President George W. Bush in 2005 and retained under President Barack Obama.
♦ Judge Neil Gorsuch is being delayed because the Democrats are doing everything possible to block  his entry into the Supreme Court. (more…)