Court peppers lawyer about Trump travel ban

SEATTLE (AP) – The Latest on the appeal of President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban (all times local) :

9:49 a.m.

A federal appeals court is peppering a lawyer for President Donald Trump about whether his travel ban discriminates against Muslims.

Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall says the executive order halting travel from six majority Muslim nations doesn’t say anything about religion, and neither the state of Hawaii nor an imam from that state who wants his mother-in-law to visit has standing to sue.

Judge Richard Paez asked Wall how Trump’s order can be squared with a federal law banning discrimination based on nationality in immigration.

Arguments are underway in Seattle over whether to reinstate the travel ban.

The hearings are being broadcast live on C-SPAN and other cable news stations.
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9:38 a.m.

Arguments are underway in Seattle over whether to reinstate President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall is telling a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that the president has broad authority over immigration.

Judge Ronald Gould says each side has been allotted 30 minutes but will be granted more if necessary, given the significance of the case.

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8:45 a.m.

Advocates for refugees and immigrants are rallying outside a federal courthouse in Seattle where judges are scheduled to hear arguments over Hawaii’s lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban

Dozens of activists gathered Monday morning, some carrying “No Ban, No Wall” signs.

The protesters were on hand about an hour before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case. The judges will decide whether to uphold a Hawaii judge’s decision in March that blocked the ban.

Trump’s new travel ban would suspend the nation’s refugee program and temporarily bar new visas for citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

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8:20 a.m.

A courtroom at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle is starting to fill up in advance of arguments over President Donald Trump’s travel ban while protests were expected outside the building.

Three judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton – Michael Hawkins, Ronald Gould and Richard Paez – are due to hear arguments over whether to uphold a Hawaii judge’s decision to block the ban in March.

Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall will argue for the administration, while Neal Katyal, a former acting attorney general, will represent the state of Hawaii, which sued to block the ban.

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1:09 a.m.

For the second time in a week, government lawyers will try to persuade a federal appeals court to reinstate President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban – and once again, they can expect plenty of questions about whether the ban was designed to discriminate against Muslims.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled arguments Monday in Seattle over Hawaii’s lawsuit challenging the travel ban, which would suspend the nation’s refugee program and temporarily bar new visas for citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Last week, judges on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments over whether to affirm a Maryland judge’s decision putting the ban on ice. They peppered Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall with questions about whether they could consider Trump’s campaign statements calling for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.