>>> YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK WHETHER OR NOT SOMEBODY’S A
CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES?
HOW HORRIBLE AND RIDICULOUS IS
THAT?
THAT? SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT.
>> DO YOU KNOW --
>> BECAUSE IT WASN’T -- IT
WASN’T A REAL DECISION THAT
THAT’S THE WAY IT IS.
>> LAWYERS FOR THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT FURIOUSLY BACKTRACKED
TODAY SAYING THEY’RE ONCE AGAIN
LOOKING INTO WHETHER THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION CAN ADD A
CITIZENSHIP STATUS QUESTION TO
THE CENSUS.
THE CENSUS. THE STUNNING REVERSAL CAME AFTER
THE PRESIDENT THIS MORNING
BLASTED REPORTS THAT THE
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ABANDONED
ITS EFFORTS TO ADD THE QUESTION
AS FAKE.
AS FAKE. THE PRESIDENT’S WORDS, BY THE
WAY, CALLING IT FAKE, DIRECTLY
CONTRADICTING HIS OWN COMMERCE
SECRETARY WILBUR ROSS, WHO
ANNOUNCED TUESDAY HE HAD GIVEN
UP HIS QUEST TO INSERT THE
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION.
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION. IN A HEATED CALL TODAY U.S.
DISTRICT JUDGE GEORGE HAZEL SET
A FRIDAY DEADLINE ON THE
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION AND TOLD
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY,
"IF YOU WERE FACEBOOK AND AN
ATTORNEY FOR FACEBOOK TOLD ME
ONE THING AND THEN I READ A
PRESS RELEASE FROM MARK
ZUCKERBERG TELLING ME SOMETHING
ELSE, I WOULD BE DEMANDING THAT
MARK ZUCKERBERG APPEAR IN COURT
WITH YOU THE NEXT TIME BECAUSE I
WOULD BE SAYING I DON’T THINK
YOU SPEAK FOR YOUR CLIENT
ANYMORE."
ANYMORE." BACK TONIGHT, NEAL KATYAL, A
RESTAURANT OF THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT, A FORMER ACTING
SOLICITOR GENERAL DURING THE
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, WHO HAS
ARGUED 39 CASES BEFORE THE U.S.
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. NEAL, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT
QUESTION TO ASK YOU TO START
WITH.
WITH. LET’S START WITH THIS.
THE PRESIDENT SENT OUT A TWEET
TODAY CALLING SOMETHING FAKE
NEWS THAT WAS ACTUALLY CONFIRMED
BY HIS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
AFTER A SUPREME COURT RULING
THAT SAID UNLESS YOU COME BACK
TO US WITH A BETTER REASON FOR
PUTTING A CITIZENSHIP QUESTION
ON THE CENSUS YOU CAN’T DO IT.
SO LET’S JUST START WITH THE
PREMISE THAT THE PRESIDENT IN
HIS TWEET THIS MORNING WAS
LYING.
LYING. >> SO I THINK, ALI, IT’S NOT
JUST DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.
IT’S ALSO THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
LAWYERS WHO WENT INTO COURT
YESTERDAY AND SAID WE’RE NOT
GOING TO BE SEEKING THE
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION, WE’RE
PRINTING THE CENSUS FORMS
WITHOUT IT.
WITHOUT IT. AND ALI, I NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE
THE DAY WHEN THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION’S TOP LAWYERS
SOUND LIKE DRUNK GIRL ON
"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE."
YOU KNOW, WE’RE GONNA HAVE A
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION, WE’RE NOT
GONNA HAVE A CITIZENSHIP
QUESTION, WE ARE.
IT’S THOROUGHLY INCONSISTENT.
AND THAT’S WHY, YOU KNOW, WHEN
THE SUPREME COURT RULED LAST
WEEK AND SAID PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
ADDITION OF THE CENSUS QUESTION
WAS ILLEGAL BECAUSE THEY USED A
REASON THAT WAS UTTERLY PRETEXT
PRETEXTUAL
PRETEXTUAL PRETEXTUAL, THAT SHOULD HAVE
BEEN THE END OF IT.
AND NOW THEY’RE COMING BACK WITH
ALL THIS SORT OF STUFF.
AND IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK.
AND CONTINUITIES GOING TO WORK
FOR A REALLY SIMPLE REASON, ALI.
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL, THE
GOVERNMENT’S TOP LAWYER, HAS
TOLD THE SUPREME COURT NOT ONCE
OR TWICE BUT FIVE DIFFERENT
TIMES THAT JUNE 30th IS THE
DEADLINE FOR THE PRINTING OF THE
CENSUS FORMS.
CENSUS FORMS. THEY STARTED THAT ON JANUARY
25th, WHERE THEY TOLD THE
SUPREME COURT, HEY, THIS
DISTRICT COURT, THIS TRIAL JUDGE
HAS RULED AGAINST US ON THE
CENSUS, WE WANT TO SKIP THE
COURT OF APPEALS AND GO STRAIGHT
TO THE SUPREME COURT.
WHY, THEY SAID?
BECAUSE OF THIS JUNE 30th
DEADLINE --
DEADLINE -- >> AND THE SUPREME COURT HAS
OBLIGED.
OBLIGED. THE SUPREME COURT OBLIGED.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> THEY GAVE THEM A DECISION BY
JUNE 30th.
JUNE 30th. >> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. THEY AGREED TO HEAR THE CASE.
IT WAS ORAL ARGUMENT --
>> I THOUGHT THIS JUDGE WITH HIS
MARK ZUCKERBERG COMMENT WAS
INTERESTING.
INTERESTING. IT’S LIKE YOU’RE TELLING ME ONE
THING, YOU TOLD THE SUPREME
COURT SOMETHING, THEY LISTENED
TO YOU.
TO YOU. DOESN’T SEEM LIKE YOU AND YOUR
BOSS ARE ON THE SAME PAGE.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN?
IS SOMEBODY GOING TO ACTUALLY
CALL DONALD TRUMP TO COURT AND
SAY WHAT’S UP WITH YOU?
>> WELL, I SUSPECT THAT THE
LAWYERS ARE GOING TO TRY AND
IRON OUT WHATEVER HAPPENED.
I MEAN, ONE LAWYER THIS MORNING
FROM THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAID
THE FIRST I’M HEARING OF THESE
TWEETS THAT I’M READING OFF OF
TWITTER.
TWITTER. AND YOU KNOW, I DON’T KNOW
WHAT’S GOING ON.
SO CLEARLY, THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT’S KIND OF OUT OF THE
LOOP AND THE COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT’S OUT OF THE LOOP AND
THE PRESIDENT’S OFF ON HIS OWN
QUIXOTIC CAMPAIGN.
QUIXOTIC CAMPAIGN. BUT I SUSPECT WHAT’S GOING TO
HAPPEN AT THE END, ALI, IS THAT
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAWYERS
ARE GOING TO REASSERT THEMSELVES
AND SAY, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT WE
TOLD THE SUPREME COURT ABOUT
JUNE 30th, WE SAID EVEN LAST
WEEK ON TUESDAY IN A FILING ON
JUNE 25th.
JUNE 25th. AND YEAH, TWO DAYS LATER THE
SUPREME COURT RULED AGAINST US.
BUT BOY, IT WILL DESTROY OUR
CREDIBILITY WITH THE FEDERAL
JUDICIARY IF WE GO BACK ON OUR
WORD NOW.
WORD NOW. I MEAN, WHEN I SAT IN THAT
CHAIR, THE GOVERNMENT’S TOP
LAWYER FOR LITIGATION, THE THING
I WAS MOST CONCERNED ABOUT WAS
PROTECTING THE CREDIBILITY THAT
PRIOR GENERATIONS OF GOVERNMENT
SERVANTS HAD BUILT UP WITH THE
FEDERAL COURTS.
FEDERAL COURTS. AND RIGHT NOW PRESIDENT TRUMP IS
THREATENING TO TORCH WHATEVER
CREDIBILITY THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT HAS LEFT BECAUSE OF
WHAT HE’S DOING.
AND THAT WILL BE A HUGE, HUGE
ERROR FOR THE COUNTRY AND FOR
HIM.
HIM. >> SO LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING.
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAWYERS
EITHER PULL BACK ON THIS OR THEY
GO BACK TO THE COURT AND TRY TO
GET THIS DONE.
BUT THERE’S NO CHANCE THAT
SOMEONE IN THE GOVERNMENT IS
TRYING TO -- IS GOING TO TRY AND
GET THAT CITIZENSHIP QUESTION ON
THE CENSUS EXTRAJUDICIALLY,
RIGHT?
RIGHT? GOING AROUND THE COURTS.
DOING SOMETHING -- BECAUSE I
FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL.
>> WELL, NOTHING THAT THIS
ADMINISTRATION DOES AT THIS
POINT SURPRISES ME.
AND WE’VE EVEN HAD A MEMBER OF
CONGRESS, A SITTING MEMBER OF
CONGRESS, SAY YEAH, GO AHEAD,
DEFY THE FEDERAL COURTS,
PRESIDENT TRUMP, AND DO THE
RIGHT THING, ADD THE CITIZENSHIP
QUESTION.
QUESTION. I MEAN, THIS ADMINISTRATION’S
RELATIONSHIP TO THE RULE OF LAW
IS SO TENUOUS, AND I AM WORRIED
ABOUT IT.
ABOUT IT. AND I THINK ALL AMERICANS SHOULD
BE BECAUSE THE CROWN JEWEL OF
OUR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IS OUR
FEDERAL JUDICIARY.
FEDERAL JUDICIARY. AND LAST WEEK THEY STOOD UP FOR
THE RIGHTS OF ALL AMERICANS TO
BE COUNTED AND TO SAY PRESIDENT
TRUMP, YOU GAVE US A REASON THAT
WAS UTTERLY PRETEXTUAL AND THIS