Trump's spending for border wall rejected by U.S. appeals court
Send a link to a friend
[June 27, 2020]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on
Friday said U.S. President Donald Trump was wrong to divert $2.5 billion
meant for the Pentagon to build part of his long-sought wall along the
U.S.-Mexico border.
In a pair of 2-1 decisions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said
the White House lacked constitutional authority for the transfer, noting
that Congress had denied the funding and finding no "unforeseen military
requirement" to justify it.
The court also said California and New Mexico, which share a border with
Mexico and were among 20 states suing the government, had legal standing
to sue.
Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said "the Executive Branch's failure to show,
in concrete terms, that the public interest favors a border wall is
particularly significant given that Congress determined fencing to be a
lower budgetary priority and the Department of Justice's own data points
to a contrary conclusion."
Trump had declared a national emergency at the border in February 2019
to access the funds.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra praised the San
Francisco-based court for halting Trump's "unlawful money grab," saying
taxpayers deserve to know their money goes where Congress intends.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the decisions "a great victory
for the rule of law," saying Trump undermined military readiness to
fulfill his "outrageous campaign promise" to build a wall.
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump tours a section of recently constructed
U.S.-Mexico border wall in San Luis, Arizona, U.S., June 23, 2020.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The appeals court also ruled that the Sierra Club and Southern
Border Communities Coalition could sue over the diversion and
deserved an injunction.
That ruling may be symbolic because the U.S. Supreme Court said last
July the nonprofits likely had no legal right to sue.
The Supreme Court also let the $2.5 billion be spent while
litigation continued, blunting the likely impact of Friday's
decisions.
President Bill Clinton appointed both judges in Friday's majority.
Trump appointed the dissenting judge. Friday's decisions totaled 184
pages and upheld lower court rulings.
The cases are California et al v Trump et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals, No. 19-16299 and 19-16336; and Sierra Club et al v Trump
et al in the same court, Nos. 19-16102 and 19-16300.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|