Gee, I wonder why they are so busy? Of course, you would be living under a rock if you didn’t know that the Dept. of Justice recommended (and the President concurred) firing the Obama-appointed Director of the FBI, James Comey, yesterday.
I joked on twitter that the reason for the firing was because Comey admitted to Congress (without prompting!) that 300 refugees are in the pool of 2,000 cases being investigated by the FBI for reaching out to foreign terrorists. See yesterday’s pre-firing post here.
In my opinion, in the long run, this Tennessee case is more important for the future of this country than anything to do with James Comey’s firing!
Now here is what The Tennessean is reporting yesterday about the lawsuit we watched being developed for years. New readers might want to check this post when the case was filed in March for some background.
The federal government will ask for a dismissal of Tennessee’s lawsuit over refugee resettlement, according to document filed in federal court on Monday.
While seeking more time to file their request, attorneys for the Department of Justice said Tennessee lacks standing and “their claim is unripe.”
In March, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement, citing a violation by federal officials of the 10th Amendment. The amendment says the federal government possesses only the powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution, with all other powers reserved for the states.
The lawsuit argues the federal government has unduly forced states to pay for refugee resettlement programs.
The federal refugee act was designed to create a permanent procedure for the admission of refugees into the United States.
The lawsuit asks the court to force the federal government to stop resettling refugees in Tennessee until all costs associated with the settlement are incurred by the federal government.
In a brief response to the state’s lawsuit, federal attorneys say the state’s claims “lacks merit.”
Give me a break! Hire more lawyers if you can’t get the work done!
While explaining that they’d like until June 1 to prepare for their request for dismissal of the lawsuit, DOJ attorneys say they’ve been preoccupied with other matters.
“Defendants’ counsel have worked diligently to prepare their motion to dismiss, but due to the number and complexity of the issues, and the unexpectedly heavy press and urgency of business in other litigation for which undersigned counsel is responsible, Defendants require additional time,” the filing states.
Chad Readler, who has been involved in federal court cases related to President Donald Trump’s executive action on sanctuary cities, is among several attorneys for the federal government handling Tennessee’s lawsuit.
Continue reading here.
Silver lining….
The Thomas More Law Center does excellent work and if Trump’s Justice Department doesn’t keep the case out of court (as they appear to be aiming to do!) then a lack of knowledgeable and skilled federal attorneys defending the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program may be a good thing!
Always a very wild card these days is if the case is heard by a politicized judge!