Hawaii Judge Puts Trump's Revised Travel Ban On Hold
HONOLULU (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A federal judge in Hawaii has put President Donald Trump's revised so-called travel ban on hold.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued his ruling Wednesday after hearing arguments on Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order involving the ban.
His ruling prevents the executive order -- announced March 6 -- from going into effect Thursday.
In response to the ruling, Trump old supporters Wednesday at a campaign-style rally in Nashville, Tennessee, that he learned that a district judge in Hawaii had halted his order, which temporarily suspends the U.S. refugee program and bars the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries.
Trump said he is going to fight the decision and take it all the way to the Supreme Court, adding, "We're going to win.''
Watson -- an Obama appointee -- moved quickly on the president's executive order, releasing a 43 page decision just two hours after hearing the request to stop the ban.
Trump called the new travel ban a "watered-down version" of his earlier one.
Watson pointedly dismissed the administration's claim this isn't a religious ban because it affects only six countries with nine percent of the world's Muslims.
"The illogic of the government's contentions is palpable," Watson said in his ruling. "The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed."
Trump said the ruling is "unprecedented judicial overreach'' and "makes us look weak.''
More than half a dozen states – including New York – are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments Wednesday about whether it should be put into practice.
Hawaii argued that the ban discriminates on the basis of nationality and would prevent Hawaii residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six mostly Muslim countries covered by the ban.
The state also said the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers.
The revised executive order bars new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program. It doesn't apply to travelers who already have visas.
Meanwhile, the fallout continues from Trump's Twitter claims that President Obama had his "wires tapped" during the campaign. The Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes has concluded the wiretap claim has no merit.
"You're going to take the tweets literally, and if you are, clearly the president is wrong," Nunes said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions added Wednesday that he never gave the president any reason to believe that he was wire tapped by the previous administration.
Trump told Fox News Wednesday night his use of the term "wire tap" could cover a number of things, saying "I think you're going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
