(22 May 2019) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Washington, D.C. - 21 May 2019
1. U.S. Attorney General William Barr steps up to podium
2. "The American Law Institute" sign on podium
3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, U.S. Attorney General:
3. "The legal community and the broader public should be more concerned, particularly about this trend of nationwide injunctions."
4. "The American Law Institute" sign on podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, U.S. Attorney General:
"These injunctions have frustrated presidential policy for most of the president's term with no clear end in sight. We're more than halfway through the president's term and the administration has not been able to rescind the signature immigration initiative of the previous administration, even though it rests entirely on discretion. The Justice Department has tried for more than a year to get the Supreme Court to review the lower court decisions us to keep DACA in place, but the court has not granted any of those requests and they languish on the conference dockett."
6. "The American Law Institute" sign on podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, U.S. Attorney General:
"And so what do we have as a result of this exercise of power by the single District Court judge? We have dreamers that have been in limbo since then. The political process has been pre-empted and we've had for over a year bitter political division in this country, including a shutdown of unprecedented length. Meanwhile the humanitarian crisis on the southern border persists while legislative efforts remain frozen. Both sides wait on the court's word on DACA."
8. "The American Law Institute" sign on podium
STORYLINE:
Attorney General William Barr is taking on another item from President Donald Trump's agenda, railing against judges who issue rulings blocking nationwide policies.
In a speech Tuesday night, Barr took aim at the broad judicial power, arguing that federal judges who have issued the so-called nationwide injunctions are hampering Trump's efforts on immigration, health care and other issues with "no clear end in sight."
It is the latest example of Barr moving to embrace Trump's political talking points.
The attorney general is traditionally expected to carry out the president's agenda as a member of the Cabinet while trying to avoid political bias. Democrats have cast Barr as an attorney general who acts more like Trump's personal lawyer instead of the nation's chief law enforcement officer.
At a re-election rally earlier this month, Trump railed against "activist judges who issue nationwide injunctions based on their personal beliefs," which he said "undermine democracy and threaten the rule of law."
Administration officials have often complained about the proliferation of nationwide injunctions since Trump became president.
Barr highlighted the legal fights that have happened in federal courts across the country over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that shields young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children but don't have legal status to protect them from deportation.
The Justice Department, under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, argued that the Obama administration acted unlawfully when it implemented DACA. Texas and other Republican-led states eventually sued and won a partial victory in a federal court in Texas.
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