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Feds urge Seattle judge to hold off on further Trump travel ban litigation

The Justice Department is urging the Seattle-based federal judge who put in place the broadest block on President Donald Trump’s travel ban executive order to hold off until an appeals court takes further action in the case.

In a filing on Monday, the Trump administration asked U.S. District Court Judge James Robart to put the lawsuit brought by the states of Washington and Minnesota on ice while the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals mulls having a larger set of judges reconsider the decision a three-judge panel issued last week, turning down the federal government’s request to reinstate Trump’s travel restrictions.

“Further proceedings in the Ninth Circuit will likely inform what additional proceedings on a preliminary injunction motion are necessary in district court. Accordingly, at this time, defendants believe the appropriate course is to postpone any further proceedings in the district court,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.

The administration’s stance urging Robart to halt action in the case while the matter is pending at the 9th Circuit appears to be a shift from what it told him just a week ago, before the panel decision rejecting the feds’ motion to stay Robart’s injunction.

“Defendants ... believe it is appropriate for the parties to proceed with briefing on plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction despite Defendants’ pending appeal,” a status report submitted last Monday said.

The new Justice Department filing does not indicate much about the administration’s legal strategy. No mention is made of the possibility of asking the Supreme Court to step in to allow Trump to reinstate his order.

The states involved argued to Robart that the 9th Circuit order issued Thursday treated his temporary restraining order as a preliminary injunction, so he should also treat it that way and not conduct another round of preliminary proceedings. Instead, the states ask to proceed with the gathering of evidence related to the case.

“The States favor expeditious proceedings in this Court. Proceeding directly to discovery ... will not interfere with the case on appeal,” lawyers for Washington and Minnesota said in their filing. “Given the gravity of the States’ constitutional allegations, Defendants’ stated national security concerns, and the public interests at stake, the States respectfully submit that discovery should proceed without delay.”

Robart is scheduled to hold a hearing later Monday to discuss further steps in the case.

No further action is expected from the 9th Circuit until sometime after Thursday, when filings are due arguing for or against consideration of the case by an 11-judge, en banc court.