Judge Blocks Mobilizing Guard Against Portland Protestors
The decision "was not conceived in good faith."
NYT (“Judge Blocks Trump’s Deployment of National Guard in Portland, Ore.“):
A federal judge on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from using Oregon National Guard soldiers in response to nightly protests at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Ore.
Judge Karin Immergut, of the U.S. District Court in Oregon, sided with Democrats who run the state government when she issued a temporary restraining order blocking the mobilization. President Trump and the Defense Department had ordered 200 Oregon soldiers for a 60-day deployment.
In her ruling, Judge Immergut wrote that she expected a trial court to agree with the state’s contention that the president exceeded his constitutional authority in mobilizing federal troops for local work and likely violated the 10th Amendment.
Obviously, Immergut is a radical left lunatic, right? Well, she was nominated to the court by Donald J. Trump in January of 2019. Oh, and she was an associate independent counsel under Kenneth Starr during the 1998 investigations of President Clinton. She did get her law degree from Berkeley, however.
In the order released Saturday evening, Judge Immergut wrote that the president’s argument about the need for mobilization was contradicted by evidence that recent protests had been comparatively quiet and nonviolent, supporting the state’s case that the decision to use troops “was not ‘conceived in good faith.’”
It’s certainly possible that the Supreme Court will overrule this on the shadow docket. There is precedent for that.
What’s remarkable about this decision is that the Judge wasn’t hyperbolic about Trump. She just engaged with everything the administration has said without expanding on it and reached this correct reading.
I hope other judges will start following this approach, especially given the growing track record of the current administration lying to the public and increasingly misleading (if not it right lying) to the courts.
Portland is burning — in the same sense that DOGE achieved its goal of Making Government Efficient
Now Trump just thumbs his nose at the Constitution and the law.
Defying court order, Trump sends California National Guard troops to Oregon
Puts the military smack in the middle of a Constitutional battle. Puts commanders at legal risk.
Has the long awaited Constitutional crisis finally arrived?
@Scott: The crisis will come when part-time national guard troops refuse to deploy. They have jobs/careers which, laws protecting them notwithstanding, could very well be in jeopardy if deployments become common. The other real test will be when the administration demands the deployment of an active duty force (82nd AB to Portland?) and a commander says no. It will be interesting to see if SCOTUS has anything brought before it regarding this.
@Mr. Prosser:
IANAL, or an expert on military law, but in such a case, I expect that commander will be arrested by military police acting on command authority, and said officer will be tried under one or more provisions of the UCMJ. Not that the Supremes would care about the violations of constitutional mumble mumble mumble, but they’ll never see it.
Genuine question from a non-American:
What happens if a mayor or governor or state prosecutor orders the police to arrest a National Guard commander for violations of state laws?
I fear that active shooting of protesters is the inevitable outcome of Trump’s desire to punish people. The magnitude of their transgressions does not matter to him. Total obedience or death is his goal. His attacks on Venezuelan boats signify that to me.
It speaks volumes that a grand total of one (1) retirement of a general officer has been reported following the regime’s demand that they should quit if they weren’t prepared to follow the new warrior ideology, including war against “the enemy within”.
I live a couple of hours from Portland OR. The downtown area has issues but mostly due to the (recently overturned) 9th Circuit Court Boise and Grants Pass decisions, same as everywhere on the West Coast = Portland has a homeless issue and is certainly not a “war zone” that you see on very selective TV news (looking at you Fox). Yes, I’ve been there recently, getting better. . Portland also has its stupid decriminalization of drugs (Measure 110) – again repealed. I’ll add in the fact that Portland is the WHITEST major city in the USA, or to quote Keamu Bell (CNN – United Shades of America) – where (the hell?) are the black folk? (um, pushed out, just like in Oregon’s KKK days – see Vanport Flood 1949 – Vancouver Portland). They like their Negroes, so long as their aren’t any.
The court decisions tied local jurisdictions hands regarding the homeless (vagrants). It made the homeless a special protected class with special rights to squat. I was on an advisory committee of a large homeless shelter during this period and these court decisions emboldened some of the unhoused (who had many, many issues (drugs and mental)) to become very bold and aggressive. Entitled. Meanwhile everyone else suffers (like higher insurance rates).
On the other hand, Rose City Antifa certainly exists (with connections to Black Bloc anarchists). How many? Likely under the number of CA National Guard being deployed. I can find more people involved in dog rescue in the Portland Metro area than are the dreaded ANTIFA (who are mostly just Anarchists, not really “Anti-Fascists”). But a few hundred crazies is noticeable. Pox on both their houses.
These military (Guard) deployments are all show, doing zilch. The idea of sending in the 82nd (regualr Army) is insane, Pussy Communist (Posse Comitatus).
Yes, I’m calling the current Administration Pussy Communists (if you get the reference).