Absolutely moving forward
Trump announces on Twitter that the Supreme Court can’t tell him what to do.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday branded as “fake” news reports that his administration was dropping plans to ask people if they are U.S. citizens on the 2020 census — despite officials in his own administration having said Monday that the question will not be asked.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and a Justice Department lawyer had both said Tuesday that the Census Bureau is in the process of printing the census questionnaire without the citizenship question.
Their statements came five days after a Supreme Court decision that effectively blocked the question being added to the 2020 census questionnaire.
The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE! We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1146446890361348097
Meanwhile, some flunky of his has already admitted that Trump capitulated and the census is proceeding without the question.
Update: the trial judge in this matter has just scheduled a conference call with the lawyers (for 3:30 pm local time, the day before a holiday) based on Trump’s tweet, which contradicts representations made to the court by the DOJ lawyers.
Interesting!
All well and good until he actually does end your constitutional form of government. As stupid as Trump is, he has, inadvertantly*, managed to normalize the overturning and ignoring of norms and standards. The story has become become “Trump being Trump,” rather than “premeditated violations of law.” I know it’s hard to maintain the requisite level of outrage for years, but he’s now set a mountain of precedents that will be easy for smarter successors to exploit to even greater effect and harm. He’s become the blunt edge of an ugly wedge.
*I say inadvertantly because he would have acted as an ignorant boor regardless of the reactions of anyone else. I don’t think it’s as much a thought out strategy as it is a result of poor to nonexistant impulse control. The part he could not have forseen is the acquiescence of much of Congress to his behaviour, and the press’s reporting of it as if it were a normal presidency, softening wording and not calling lies “lies” as often as it could or should have.
Trump imagines himself as Andrew Jackson, who also ignored the court (Trail of Tears).
Actually, looks like there are (at least) two different cases on the census citizenship question. The one that just had the conference is in Maryland, before a Judge Hazel; apparently the judge has given the parties until 2pm Friday to file a stipulation, or else that case will move forward.
The case that SCOTUS heard was out of New York, and the plaintiffs there filed a letter demanding an immediate status conference; the district court judge there (Judge Furman) ordered the DOJ to file a response today.
Mike Sacks, who I gather is a Fox reporter, claims “SOURCE: The DOJ reversed course to Judge Hazel, told them that they’ve been “ordered” to try to get the citizenship question back on the census, and that no final decision has been made yet, but their “current plan” is to go directly to SCOTUS to bless whatever they decide.” Which, if true, is…. uh… interesting. Best I can figure is that it’s the DOJ lawyers’ attempt to satisfy their obligations to (1) obey the orders of their superiors; and (2) not be in contempt of court. “Well, Mr. President, we could ask the Chief Justice if he’s really really sure we can’t ask the citizenship question!” And hey, I’m sure Roberts would love to have any excuse to rule the other way here, but even he’s going to need a better reason to flip-flop than “the toddler-in-chief is stamping his feet because he doesn’t like your ruling.”
Transcript is up. (sniff) Brings a tear to my eye. I thought only lawyers in private practice had to do the whole “I’m sorry judge, I have no idea what the hell my client is thinking, and ethically I’m supposed to defend it but damned if I know how” tap dance that the government lawyers did here. Judge Hazel is showing sympathy for the individual lawyers before him, but seems a wee bit irked at the situation.
Oh golly. That transcript is weird reading. (Thank you for alerting us to it, Screechy!)
Government lawyer telling the judge, “That tweet this morning surprised me just as much as it did you, I don’t get it either, I’m doing my best to figure it the fuck out.”
The judge saying “What am I supposed to do, tell the president no?” and the lawyer saying, “Well, yeah. Your honor.”
“You’re not telling me to tell the president to stop tweeting, right? Or are you.”
“This is an odd place for the judiciary to be.”
It is. It is.
“A very fluid situation which we are trying to get our arms around” – needs the old New Yorker “block that metaphor!”
So they have to choose one of the two options and tell him which one it is at 2 p.m. Friday, period, no extensions.
As always, when it involves law and Trump, refer to Popehat…
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1146526700475301888
There are many good tweets in the timeline and replies on this matter.