Judges pull up Trump lawyer over travel ban

Richmond May 8: US appeals court judges voiced skepticism on Monday toward a claim by President Donald Trump’s administration that his temporary ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority nations was inspired by national security concerns, not religious bias.

Acting US Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, arguing on behalf of Trump, came under tough questioning from judges, particularly several appointed by Democratic presidents, on the Richmond, Virginiabased 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in the administration’s bid to revive the travel ban.

The arguments before the court came in the administration’s appeal of a March 15 ruling by Marylandbased federal judge Theodore Chuang that put the travel ban on hold just a day before it was due to go into effect.

“This is not a Muslim ban,” Mr Wall told the judges. Judge Robert King told Mr Wall that the Republican president has never retracted previous comments about wanting to impose a ban on Muslims.

“He’s never repudiated what he said about the Muslim ban. It’s still on his website,” King asked, referring to a Trump campaign promise for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

The arguments marked the latest legal test for Mr

Trump’s temporary travel ban, which also was blocked by federal judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii in a separate legal challenge.