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U.S. NEWSFriday 10 March 2017
Legal challenges to Trump’s travel ban mount from US states
MARTHA BELLISLE Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson finishes a news conference about the state’s Yemen. It also temporarily
JENNIFER KELLEHER response to President Trump’s revised travel ban Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Seattle. Legal chal- shuts down the U.S. refu-
Associated Press lenges against Trump’s revised travel ban mounted Thursday as Washington State said it would re- gee program.
SEATTLE (AP) — Legal chal- new its request to block the executive order. It came a day after Hawaii launched its own lawsuit, Unlike the initial order, the
lenges against President and Ferguson said both Oregon and New York had asked to join his state’s legal action. new one says current visa
Donald Trump’s revised holders won’t be affected,
travel ban mounted Thurs- (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) and removes language
day as Washington state that would give priority to
said it would renew its re- Trump is — not so fast,” Fer- vations as the original.” egon, its residents, employ- religious minorities.
quest to block the execu- guson told reporters. “Af- Robart on Thursday grant- ers, agencies, educational Hawaii Attorney General
tive order and a judge ter spending more than a ed Oregon’s request to join institutions, health care sys- Douglas Chin said that the
granted Oregon’s request month to fix a broken or- Washington and Minneso- tem and economy. state could not stay silent
to join the case. der that he rushed out the ta in the case opposing the Trump’s revised ban bars on Trump’s travel ban be-
The events happened a door, the President’s new travel ban. new visas for people from cause of Hawaii’s unique
day after Hawaii launched order reinstates several of Oregon Attorney General six predominantly Muslim culture and history. Ha-
its own lawsuit, and Wash- the same provisions and Ellen Rosenblum said the countries: Somalia, Iran, waii depends heavily on
ington state Attorney Gen- has the same illegal moti- executive order has hurt Or- Syria, Sudan, Libya and tourism, and the revised
eral Bob Ferguson said New ban would hurt the state’s
York state also asked to join economy, he said.
his state’s legal effort. Mas- The courts need to hear
sachusetts Attorney Gen- “that there’s a state where
eral Maura Healey said the ethnic diversity is the norm,
state is joining fellow states where people are wel-
in challenging the revised comed with aloha and re-
travel ban. spect,” Chin said.
Washington was the first He noted that the new
state to sue over the origi- travel ban order comes just
nal ban, which resulted in after the 75th anniversary
Judge James Robart in Se- of the Feb. 19, 1942, ex-
attle halting its implemen- ecutive order by President
tation around the country. Franklin Roosevelt that sent
Ferguson said the state Japanese Americans were
would ask Robart to rule sent to internment camps
that his temporary restrain- during World War II. That or-
ing order against the first der was put in place after
ban applies to Trump’s re- the Japanese attack on
vised action. Pearl Harbor. Hawaii had
“My message to President an internment camp.q
White House: Trump unaware
of Flynn’s foreign agent work
STEPHEN BRAUN fore he appointed him as
CHAD DAY national security adviser,
Associated Press press secretary Sean Spicer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- said, “I don’t believe that
dent Donald Trump was that was known.” Pence
not aware that his former said in an interview later
national security adviser, with Fox News that he also
Michael Flynn, had worked did not know about Flynn’s
to further the interests of paid work. Flynn and his
the government of Turkey company filed the registra-
before appointing him, the tion paperwork describing
White House said Thursday. $530,000 worth of lobbying
The comments came two before Election Day on be-
days after Flynn and his firm, half of Inovo BV, a Dutch-
Flynn Intel Group Inc., filed based company owned by
paperwork with the Jus- Turkish businessman Ekim
tice Department formally Alptekin. In an interview
identifying him as a foreign with The Associated Press,
agent and acknowledging Alptekin said Flynn did so
that his work for a compa- after pressure from Justice
ny owned by a Turkish busi- Department officials.
nessman could have aided The filing this week was the
Turkey’s government. Vice former head of the Defense
President Mike Pence on Intelligence Agency’s first
Thursday called the action acknowledgement that
“an affirmation of the presi- his consulting business fur-
dent’s decision to ask Gen- thered the interests of a for-
eral Flynn to resign.” eign government while he
At the White House, asked was working as a top ad-
whether Trump knew viser to Trump’s presidential
about Flynn’s work be- campaign.q
