The top lawyer for the state of Washington just beat President Donald Trump in court, and he isn't backing down from the world leader's purported "threat" against him.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance on Saturday shared an interview with Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, who she says "led the charge" in challenges to Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. Although numerous municipalities filed suit, Brown was first, and the result was a judge temporarily striking down the "unconstitutional" order.
"He got to court first over Trump’s plan to rescind birthright citizenship. His case gave the court the opportunity to stand for the rule of law, and a senior federal district judge of more than four decades, John C. Coughenour, who was appointed by President Reagan, did just that," Vance wrote on her Substack blog. "The rule of law won in that courtroom, which means the American people did too."
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Vance added that she has been "encouraged by Brown’s approach."
"He is straightforward and all about the law, which is precisely what an attorney general should be," she said. "I wanted to get this one straight out to all of you, because after the week we’ve just lived through, we deserve some good news. There is still a rule of law out there, and there are people who care about it and will work to enforce it."
One question Vance asked Brown was, "Are you concerned that Trump will retaliate against you and your fellow attorneys general? On Wednesday, the Justice Department’s acting deputy attorney general issued a policy to all offices directing them to consider criminal prosecutions of state and local officials who don’t comply with the new administration’s policy directives on immigration. Washington can also impact funding, assistance, and other resources for your state. Is this politics as usual, or is something wrong?"
Brown replied, "We’re not aware of anything that would allow the administration to carry out such a threat, but we take these comments seriously and are taking a strong look at the White House’s maneuvering here."
"Our nation isn’t governed by one person, as much as Donald Trump would like that to be the case. We will continue to use every resource we have to uphold the laws of Washington and protect Washingtonians’ freedoms," he added Saturday.