Trump’s comments on Muslims are at center of travel-ban case

Associated Press

RICHMOND, VA.

A challenge to President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban appears to hinge on whether a federal appeals court agrees that the Republican’s past anti-Muslim statements can be used against him.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrestled Monday with whether the court should look beyond the text of the executive order to comments made by Trump and his aides on the campaign trail and after his election in order to determine whether the policy illegally targets Muslims.

“That’s the most important issue in the whole case,” said Judge Robert B. King.

The panel of 13 judges peppered both sides with tough questions but gave few clues as to how they might rule. The judges did not immediately issue a decision Monday.

A federal judge in Maryland who blocked the travel ban in March cited Trump’s comments as evidence that the executive order is a realization of Trump’s repeated promise to bar Muslims from entering the country.

The administration argues that the court shouldn’t question the president’s national security decisions based on campaign promises.

“This is not a Muslim ban. Its text doesn’t have to anything to do with religion. Its operation doesn’t have anything to do with religion,” Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall told the appeals court.

The countries were chosen because they present terrorism risks and the ban applies to everyone in those countries regardless of religion, Wall said.