President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning denounced a federal court ruling against his travel ban, his latest criticism on the judiciary in the ongoing legal battle over his controversial executive order.
“Well, as predicted, the 9th Circuit did it again – Ruled against the TRAVEL BAN at such a dangerous time in the history of our country. S.C.,” he tweeted.
“S.C.” is an apparent reference to the Supreme Court, which Trump’s Justice Department has asked to review the matter.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a revised version of the executive order, using the President’s tweets against him in making their decision. It is yet another stinging loss from a court that similarly refused to reinstate Trump’s original executive order on travel in February.
“We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress,” the three judges, all appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote. “(I)mmigration, even for the President, is not a one-person show.”
The judges largely affirmed US District Court Judge Derrick Watson’s decision from March which found the core provisions of the revised executive order — temporarily blocking all refugees and foreign nationals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US — likely violated the Constitution because its primary purpose was to disfavor Muslims, but on slightly different grounds.
Trump previously attacked the Ninth Circuit back in April when it halted implementation of an executive order targeting “sanctuary” cities.
The President also has repeatedly condemned sitting federal judges and decisions he does not like, unprecedented criticism for a sitting president toward the judiciary in modern times.
During the campaign, he called Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a sitting federal judge in California who was overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University, a “hater” and a “Mexican,” saying his heritage meant he could not impartially oversee the case because of Trump’s tough immigration policies. (The case was eventually settled and Curiel has been assigned to hear the case of a man who claims he was improperly deported.)
And shortly after he took office, Trump lashed out on several occasions at US District Judge James Robart, who sits in Seattle and put a nationwide hold on Trump’s first travel ban.
“Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!” the President wrote in one tweet.
Then, in March, Trump blasted another federal judge’s ruling that blocked a revised version of the travel ban, suggesting it was a politically motivated decision that made the US look “weak.”