Rubin on Hearings Against Trump’s Use of the Military in Calif.: The Judge Will Drill into What Kind of Operations They’re Engaged In

RUSH EXCERPT:
RUBIN: "Christina, I think a lot of the argument today is going to turn around, not just. The law. That’s at issue, but exactly what is happening on the ground in Los Angeles and what those who have been called up by the president are expected to do in the coming days. And I want to read to you from a reply brief that governor Newsom and the state of California filed. Just a short time ago in anticipation of this afternoon’s hearings. In this brief, they cite an interview that major general Scott sherman, who has been described as the commanding officer for all of the California national guard members and marines who have been deployed under the president’s orders, he told reporters yesterday. Of those national guard members, they do not do any arrests. They are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators. Governor Newsom in the state of California say that’s an admission that the national guard members on the ground are doing things beyond merely protecting federal officers, protecting federal property, but are rather engaging in what they call direct civilian law enforcement. And the reason that that’s important is because that’s where they draw a clear line in terms of what is legal and constitutional and what is not. So today, I think judge Breyer is really going to want to drill down into how are these people being used, what kinds of operations are they engaged in? The government submitted a declaration yesterday from a senior military official who detailed places where all of these national guard people have been deployed, but he only covered about 900 of them in a declaration that he filed. That leaves over 1200 people that have been deployed to Los Angeles with a. very flimsy description of what exactly that they’re doing there. And today’s argument, and whether a temporary restraining order is necessary, is really going to turn on the facts as much as it is on the law that sort of exists to provide a clear dividing line between what’s legal and constitutional and what is not."