George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, tweeted Monday that President Trump’s criticism of the Department of Justice for not sticking with “the original Travel Ban” will hurt the government’s case in the Supreme Court.
The president sent out various tweets Monday following the DOJ’s request that the Supreme Court review the appeals court decision blocking his executive order temporarily stopping refugee resettlement and the immigration of individuals from certain countries.
This was the second executive order President Trump signed on the matter. The original order indefinitely blocked the admittance of Syrian refugees and included Iraqis on the list of nationalities that are temporarily barred from entering the U.S.
“The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C,” Trump tweeted. “The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!”
Conway, an attorney who was reportedly a leading contender to head the DOJ’s civil division before removing himself from consideration Friday, wrote, “These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won’t help [The Office of the Solicitor General] get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad.” (RELATED: Kellyanne Conway Rips James Comey)
The Solicitor General represents the U.S. in Supreme Court cases. Conway was previously in consideration for the post, and President Trump instead nominated Noel Francisco for the role. Jeffrey Wall is currently the Acting Solicitor General. This tweet from Conway came hours after his wife said that there is an unfair “obsession” over the president’s tweets.
These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won’t help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad. https://t.co/zVhcyfm8Hr
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017
After Conway’s comment received publicity, he wrote a series of tweets to clarify that he strongly supports the president. Conway said that it was due to this support that he sent out his tweet, as the president’s comments on legal matters “seriously undermine” the administration’s agenda.
1) Just to be clear, and in response to inquiries, I still VERY, VERY STRONGLY support POTUS, his Admin, policies, the executive order …
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017
2) … and of course, my wonderful wife. Which is why I said what I said this morning. Every sensible lawyer in WHCO and every political …
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017
3) … appointee at DOJ wd agree with me (as some have already told me). The pt cannot be stressed enough that tweets on legal matters …
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017
4) … seriously undermine Admin agenda and POTUS–and those who support him, as I do, need to reinforce that pt and not be shy about it.
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017
This criticism of Trump’s tweets was shared by an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case. Judges have continuously ruled against the executive order by citing the president’s own words about having a Muslim ban. Neal Katyal, who is representing Hawaii in its lawsuit against the administration, tweeted, “Its kinda odd to have the defendant in Hawaii v Trump acting as our co-counsel.We don’t need the help but will take it!”
Its kinda odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel.We don’t need the help but will take it! pic.twitter.com/8ehqkLkOY2
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) June 5, 2017