Dershowitz on Trump Travel Ban

Alan Dershowitz on Trump Travel Ban
The View from the Middle

Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law school professor, constitutional scholar and defender of civil liberties is hardly my “go to” guy when it comes to conservative principles, but I have to admit that I like what he has been saying lately. He actually supported President Trump’s original executive order, which temporarily restricted travel from seven countries due to poor vetting procedures in those countries.
His point on Trump’s first order was that the President has broad rights to limit immigration from any country when he perceives a risk to our national security. In addition, Dershowitz suggested that the judges involved couldn’t use statements made in the heat of a campaign as proof of some kind of motive for the order. Presidents are allowed to change their minds, right? Obama changed his mind on traditional marriage. So did Hillary. Actually there is a long and rich history of opinion shifting in politics on both sides of the aisle.
But what Alan Dershowitz said this morning was not only brilliant, but also stated so simply as for any and every American to understand. He said that these judges were ruling in a way that would make this order perfectly legal, if it were issued by Barack Obama, but illegal if issued by Donald Trump.
Think about the implications. This would allow judges to consider perceived (not actual) motives for Presidential action and then ruling against these perceived motives whenever they liked. I don’t know if these judges are getting off on some power trip when they think they can scuttle the plans of the President, or if they are just advancing some ideological agenda. Either way, that’s not their job, and I predict a reversal in the 4th Circuit or the Supreme Court if it has to go that far. I’m betting that serious judges will understand the implications of Alan Dershowitz’s logic.