I was going to leave this for Monday night -- but since it is is so obvious, and thus trivial, I will knock it out, here before brunch (and plane trip drop offs) on Sunday.
Silly Mr. Trump seems to think he gets to pick and choose, among various documents, when the Judicial Branch orders him to turn over all documents, the documents upon which he based his decision to issue Muslim Ban 3.0. Not so, ever since Marbury v. Madison, in 1803. That's a solid line of cases, establishing 214 years of black letter law, entirely uninterrupted. Trump will lose here, again. [My earlier November 1, 2017 backgrounder here.]
Oral argument will (once again!) occur on this iteration of Muslim Ban, live over the web (and on CSPAN), on December 8, 2017, in the Fourth Circuit. Here is Trump's letter, in full -- and a bit:
. . . .The government has received the Court’s letter of November 22, 2017, indicating that the Court has voted to request that the government supplement the record in this consolidated appeal with two reports referenced in Proclamation No. 9645 and the government’s opening brief: a report submitted to the President on July 9, 2017; and a report submitted to the President on Sept. 15, 2017. The Court’s letter appears to envision that those materials would be publicly filed with the Court. . . .
The government believes that this case can be decided based on the existing record. Should the Court nevertheless decide to review the reports, however, the government respectfully requests that the Court order their submission in camera and ex parte, so as to preserve the protections afforded to the reports as classified and privileged material. See, e.g., Tabaa v. Chertoff, 509 F.3d 89, 93 n.1, 96-106 (2d Cir. 2007); Bassiouni v. FBI, 436 F.3d 712, 722 n.7 (7th Cir. 2006); Jifry v. FAA, 370 F.3d 1174, 1184 (D.C. Cir. 2004). . . .
The use of the word "can" immediately above is rather astonishing, in and of itself. Here the Executive Branch would purport to tell the Judicial Branch what the Executive feels is adequate (in order to dispose fo the challnge, and rule in favor of Mr. Trump), without citing any authority, other than his own. In one word, 45 encapsulates everything that is wrong with his view of the world. He fancies himself a king -- not a steward, and servant, of the people. We the people -- we are his bosses -- and the courts are here to check up on that. Be advised, 45: The time for honoring yourself is drawing to a close. Your time in office is coming peaceably. . . to an end.
Otherwise, a perfect Sunday brunch here. . . smile. नमस्ते
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