Federal judge blocks use of billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to build border wall
Source: CNN
Washington (CNN)A federal judge in Texas blocked the Trump administration from using billions of dollars in Pentagon funds for the construction of the border wall. Judge David Briones of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas said Tuesday that the administration cannot use military construction funds to build additional barriers on the southern border.
In September, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized diverting of $3.6 billion in military construction funds for 11 wall projects on the southern border with Mexico. The Pentagon said at the time that half the money was coming from deferred projects overseas, and the other half was planned for projects in the US.
The lawsuit, brought by El Paso County, Texas, and Border Network for Human Rights, argued that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority when he issued a national emergency declaration to gain access to additional funds for his border wall, despite receiving $1.375 billion from Congress. The complaint also alleges that the declaration doesn't meet the National Emergencies Act's definition of "emergency" and pushes back against Trump's remarks that border barriers led to a drop in crime in El Paso. The President's emergency proclamation was a blatant attempt to grab power from Congress.
Today's order affirms that the President is not a king and that our courts are willing to check him when he oversteps his bounds," said Kristy Parker, counsel for Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit which represented the plaintiffs, in a statement. At issue is the military construction funds that have been diverted to build a border wall. In October, Briones found that the plaintiffs had standing to bring the case because of they've suffered harm as a result. The ruling doesn't apply to the use of other funds for the wall, including counter-drug and Treasury Forfeiture Funds, that have been designated for wall construction.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/10/politics/federal-judge-military-construction-border/index.html
onetexan
(12,994 posts)bluestarone
(16,723 posts)Every stop is a victory!!
gademocrat7
(10,623 posts)lordsummerisle
(4,650 posts)Appeal, then SCOTUS?
SKKY
(11,773 posts)Hulk
(6,699 posts)328 more days to suffer under this degenerate.
iluvtennis
(19,758 posts)Pluvious
(4,278 posts)25% of federal judges are now the Groper's (and McConnell McFuckFace's) chosen.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,112 posts)Gothmog
(144,005 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)Maxheader
(4,366 posts)even has the authority to do half the shit it does...trade wars..moving
the navy around, threatening other countries...declaring progress in
all the negotiations..in afghanistan, n. korea, china..and on and on..
let the justices in this country put cheetox against the wall on these issues
if congress won't...
-declaration doesn't meet the National Emergencies Act's definition of "emergency"
colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)You can imagine the response by our evil insane child leader, he will call this Judge crazy and deep state scum.
This guy is benefiting Nixon who will no longer hold the Title of our most corrupt crazy President.
We are in a full blown crisis that Orange Neo Nazi type Creep is like a wounded animal now, who knows what lies ahead.