A critical hearing on President Trump's deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles is underway.
San Francisco's U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer presided over the case, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after a historic weekend in Los Angeles County. The state argues that Trump has surpassed his power in “unprecedented snatch of power” without the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom and by deploying Marines on U.S. soil.
“We expect the court order to clearly show what is legal and illegal is illegal, and part of it makes it clear that Trump's National Guard deployment is illegal,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Times Wednesday.
“He may just refuse such a deployment, returning the National Guard to its appropriate commander-in-chief, the governor,” Bonta added.
On the other hand, the Trump administration is briefing the court that it has no role to review the matter.
“The courts will not intervene when President Eisenhower deploys the military to protect schools' segregation. The courts will not intervene when President Nixon deploys the military to send mail during the postal strike. The courts should not intervene here, either.”
The protests emerged in Los Angeles on Friday in response to a series of lightning strikes by customs and border law enforcement officers across the county. A few agitators of the protesters committed violence and vandalism, prompting Trump to threaten first and then deploy quickly, with the California National Guard responding. He added active Marines to Monday's action. Protests and some sporadic violent riots have continued since the deployment.
This is a shocking news story that will be updated. Wilner reported on the Yellows in Washington, DC and San Francisco from Washington, DC.
