Page 8A
NATION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Judges hammer attorneys on both sides of travel ban case
By SUDHIN THANAWALA
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO —
President Donald Trump’s
travel ban faced its toughest
test yet Tuesday as a panel
of appeals court judges
hammered away at the
government’s
arguments
that the ban was motivated
by terrorism fears but also
directed pointed questions
to an attorney who claimed
it unconstitutionally targeted
Muslims.
The contentious hearing
before three judges on the
San Francisco-based 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals
focused narrowly on whether
a restraining order issued by
a lower court should remain
in effect while a challenge
to the ban proceeds. But the
judges also jumped into the
larger constitutional questions
surrounding Trump’s order,
which temporarily suspended
the nation’s refugee program
and immigration from seven
mostly Muslim countries
that have raised terrorism
concerns.
The hearing was conducted
by phone — an unusual step
— and broadcast live from
the court’s website to a record
audience.
Judge Richard Clifton, a
George W. Bush nominee,
Iranian baby with heart defect admitted to Oregon hospital
Greg Lehman/Whitman College via AP
In this 2008 photo provided by Whitman College, U.S.
District Judge James Robart, right, talks with students
at the college in Walla Walla. Robart ruled Feb. 3 in
federal court in Seattle to suspend President Donald
Trump’s travel and refugee ban.
asked an attorney representing
Washington state and Minne-
sota, which are challenging
the ban, what evidence he had
that the ban was motivated by
religion.
“I have trouble under-
standing why we’re supposed
to infer religious animus
when in fact the vast majority
of Muslims would not be
affected.”
Only 15 percent of the
world’s
Muslims
were
affected, the judge said,
citing his own calculations.
He added that the “concern
for terrorism from those
connected to radical Islamic
sects is hard to deny.”
Noah Purcell, Washington
state’s solicitor general, cited
public statements by Trump
calling for a ban on the entry
of Muslims to the U.S. He said
the states did not have to show
every Muslim is harmed, only
that the ban was motivated by
religious discrimination.
Clifton also went after the
government’s attorney, asking
whether he denied statements
by Trump and former New
York City Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani, who said recently
that Trump asked him to
create a plan for a Muslim
ban.
“We’re not saying the case
shouldn’t proceed, but we are
saying that it is extraordinary
for a court to enjoin the
PORTLAND (AP) — An Iranian infant
in need of life-saving heart surgery arrived
Tuesday at a Portland hospital with her
family after being temporarily banned from
coming to the U.S. by President Donald
Trump’s immigration orders.
Iranian doctors told Fatemeh Reshad’s
parents weeks ago that she needed at least
one urgent surgery to correct serious heart
defects, or she will die, according to her
uncle, Samad Taghizadeh, a U.S. citizen
who lives in Portland.
The family previously had an appoint-
ment in Dubai to get a tourist visa. But it was
abruptly canceled after Trump announced his
executive order banning the entry of people
from seven countries with Muslim majorities.
The girl and her parents had to return to Iran.
A Seattle judge issued a temporary
restraining order on the ban the same day a
waiver was granted for the baby.
“Fatemeh looks well,” said Dr. Laurie
president’s national security
decision based on some news-
paper articles,” said August
Flentje, who argued the case
for the Justice Department.
Under questioning from
Clifton, Flentje did not dispute
that Trump and Giuliani made
the statements.
Judge Michelle T. Fried-
land, who was appointed by
President Barack Obama,
asked whether the govern-
ment has any evidence
connecting the seven nations
Armsby, interim head of the Division of
Pediatric Cardiology at OHSU Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital. “Our tests this morning
have confirmed her diagnosis and the urgent
need for treatment.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon
Democrat, was instrumental in getting the
waiver for the baby’s family, as were New
York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and immigration
attorneys.
The hospital issued a statement saying
that the family “would like to extend their
heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped
make their trip possible. The family would
like to give special thanks to the congres-
sional delegations and governors of Oregon
and New York.”
Jennifer Morrissey, a Portland immigra-
tion attorney who championed the baby’s
cause, said “This was truly a team effort to
beat the clock, given the medical and legal
hurdles Fatemeh was facing.”
to terrorism.
Flentje told the judges
that the case was moving
fast and the government had
not yet included evidence to
support the ban. Flentje cited
a number of Somalis in the
U.S. who, he said, had been
connected to the al-Shabab
terrorist group.
The ban has upended
travel to the U.S. for more
than a week and tested the
new administration’s use of
executive power.
The live broadcast of the
oral arguments on the court’s
YouTube site had 137,000
connections — by far the
largest audience for an oral
argument since the 9th Circuit
began live streaming about
two years ago, said David
Madden, a spokesman for the
court. Some news outlets also
carried the live stream.
Whatever the court even-
tually decides, either side
could ask the Supreme Court
to intervene.
As Trump fears fraud, GOP votes to kill election commission
WASHINGTON (AP) —
A House committee voted on
Tuesday to eliminate an inde-
pendent election commission
charged with helping states
improve their voting systems
as President Donald Trump
erroneously claims wide-
spread voter fraud cost him
the popular vote.
The party-line vote came
less than two days after
Trump vowed to set up a
White House commission
helmed by Vice President
Mike Pence to pursue his
accusations of election fraud.
“We’re going to look
at it very, very carefully,”
Trump said of voter fraud in
an interview with Fox News
that aired Sunday. “It has
to do with the registration,
and when you look at the
registration and you see dead
people that have voted.”
Reports that Trump told
congressional leaders in a
meeting last month that 3 to
5 million ballots were cast
illegally during the 2016 race
were met with discomfort
on Capitol Hill. While top
Republicans have refused
to disavow his charges of
election fraud, they haven’t
pushed for action on the
issue, which remains a low
priority for congressional
leadership.
The vote in the House
Administration Committee
underscored, once again, the
political differences between
the Republican president
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
St. Charles, La. Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne, the
president of the National Sheriffs Association, listens
at left as President Donald Trump speaks during a
meeting in the White House Tuesday.
and the party’s rank-and-
file. The GOP majority on
the committee eliminated
the Election Assistance
Commission, which was
created by Congress after
the 2000 Florida recount to
upgrade voting technology
and provide election-related
information
to
federal
entities, state officials and
election administrators.
Republicans, who led the
effort to terminate the agency,
say it’s a prime example of
government waste. They’ve
been introducing legislation
to end the commission for
years with little success.
“If
we’re
looking
at reducing the size of
government this is a perfect
example of something that
can be eliminated,” said Rep.
Gregg Harper, R-Miss., the
committee chairman, after
the bill passed on a 6-3 vote.
“We don’t need fluff.”
Harper said he hadn’t
spoken to Trump about the
legislation. “He’s certainly
welcome to call me at any
time,” he said.
In separate testimony
on Capitol Hill, Homeland
Security Secretary John
Kelly endorsed providing
states “as much help as we
can to make sure that their
systems are protected in
future elections.”
The bill was opposed
by committee Democrats
and voting rights groups,
who argued that the federal
agency plays a vital role in
protecting elections from
hacking and other types of
interference.
“At a time when the vast
majority of the country’s
voting machines are outdated
and in need of replacement,
and after an election in which
foreign criminals already
tried to hack state voter regis-
tration systems, eliminating
the EAC poses a risky and
irresponsible threat to our
election infrastructure,” said
Wendy Weiser, the democ-
racy program director at the
Brennan Center for Justice.
Congress
allotted
nearly $3.3 billion to states
and territories to support
upgrading voting systems,
and much of that money was
placed into bank accounts
where it gained interest. As
of October 2015, the most
recent date available, nearly
$376 million remained
unspent in dozens of states
across the country.
“Each day we hear from
state and local election
officials who need our help
to navigate the challenges
they face,” said EAC chair
Thomas Hicks, in a state-
ment. “We are focused on
serving them and the Amer-
ican voters. Congress should
remain a trusted partner in
that effort.”
The committee also
voted to terminate the
public financing system,
which provides major party
presidential nominees a
lump sum grant of roughly
$94.14 million in the general
election. But by accepting
the grant, a candidate may
not raise any additional
funds and is severely limited
in how much of their own
money they use.
President Barack Obama
effectively ended the practice
of candidates taking general
election public financing in
2008, when he chose not to
accept it. His Republican rival
John McCain took the grant
that year and was swamped
by the Obama campaign’s
spending. Neither Hillary
Clinton nor Trump accepted
public financing this year.