Judge raises eyebrows with joke about Trump DOJ lawyer during packed hearing: CNN

A federal judge overseeing the legal battle between President Donald Trump and the three major news outlets he banned from the White House couldn’t help but be amused by an unusual sight inside his packed courtroom.

CNN correspondent Evan Perez, who attended the hearing Thursday, described the moment the judge poked fun at a lone Justice Department lawyer who found himself vastly outnumbered by attorneys representing the media organizations.

“There were about five attorneys on the media side, and there was one government lawyer, Michael Vilcek, from the Justice Department,” Perez reported.

“And the judge joked that he normally sees the government has a big retinue of lawyers in cases, and one lawyer for a defendant,” Perez said. “This is not that type of case,” he added.

“No, it's not,” CNN’s Dana Bash replied.

Perez also reported that the judge expressed skepticism about the administration’s case.

“He told the government lawyers it appears that the biggest hurdle you will have is that due process concern that he based his earlier ruling on,” Perez told viewers Thursday. The judge temporarily extended the order through Tuesday as he weighs whether to grant a longer preliminary injunction, CNN reported.

“We might be here because the president woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter said while describing the courtroom battle between the White House and the media organizations.

“It’s about the president trying to pick and choose who can ask him questions, who can document his presidency, and who can hold him accountable,” he concluded.