An activist lawyer on Monday accused the Seattle judge who halted President Trump’s extreme vetting executive order of a “dangerous political stunt,” saying the president was right in chiding the judge for a “ridiculous” ruling.
Victor Williams, a D.C.-area lawyer and law professor who has been a defender of presidents of both parties, said U.S. District Judge James L. Robart is the latest victim of Trump derangement syndrome, “joining the American media [and] the rest of the political elites in waging war” on Mr. Trump and his agenda.
“He had no legal authority. All the precedents are totally against the analysis he presented,” Mr. Williams said.
Judge Robart late Friday issued a temporary restraining order halting Mr. Trump’s 90-day pause in visitors from seven countries with connections to terrorism, and his 120-day halt of the refugee resettlement program.
His ruling said states would be harmed if foreign students and other visitors from those countries weren’t allowed into the U.S. — but the judge, in his written ruling, did not explain his legal reasons for rejecting the Trump administration’s argument that the president had the power to legally block entry of those he deemed security threats.
Another federal judge in Boston did uphold Mr. Trump’s order, concluding that the president was acting within the broad powers given him by the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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