ICYMI last night, a federal judge put on hold a Justice Department plan to swap out attorneys on the Census case until the old lawyer sign affidavits as to why they need to be taken off the case:
Update: A federal judge in New York says the Justice Department cannot swap out its legal team in the census case. “Defendants provide no reasons, let alone ‘satisfactory reasons,’ for the substitution of counsel," Judge Jesse Furman wrote per @kpolantz. https://t.co/Mqaa2h8Gtg
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 9, 2019
And this morning, President Trump lashed out at the judge over the move:
So now the Obama appointed judge on the Census case (Are you a Citizen of the United States?) won’t let the Justice Department use the lawyers that it wants to use. Could this be a first?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2019
In other words, if the attorneys provide the judge with the information he wants, the swap can happen:
To recap: The judge in SDNY said DOJ must comply with local court rules in moving to withdraw lawyers from the case, which means providing "satisfactory reasons" for doing so and confirming they'll stay under the court's jurisdiction if needed https://t.co/tQ9ubaT9Mx
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) July 10, 2019
Enter Rep. Raja Krishanmoorthi (D-IL) who somehow failed Reading Comprehension 101 and thinks the president is questioning the judge’s citizenship with the parenthetical above:
The President responded to a ruling he didn't like by questioning the citizenship of the judge and somehow it's not surprising at this point. https://t.co/uklluZ96id
— Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) July 10, 2019
Hate the president all you want, Congressman, just don’t be dumb about it:
I hate Trump, but I don’t think that’s what he was doing here. It looks like he was clarifying which Census case he was referring to. I think you’re jumping the gun a bit Mr. Congressman.
— Michael (@TwoSeventyThree) July 10, 2019
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