Spicer: Judge who blocked Trump's travel ban went 'rogue'

White House press secretary Sean Spicer accused the federal judge who blocked President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations of going “rogue.”

U.S. District Court Judge James Robart issued a ruling Friday, effectively halting Trump’s executive order, prompting a series of Twitter attacks by the president reminiscent of his offensive against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, an Indiana-born Mexican-American judge who oversaw lawsuits involving Trump University.


“The law is very clear that the president has broad powers to keep this country safe and to limit access to people that could come in to this country and do us harm,” Spicer told Fox News in an interview conducted Sunday but broadcast Monday morning. “He utilized that power in a very legal, constitutional manner to ensure that we are safe, our people are safe, our country is safe, our institutions are safe. And it’s somewhat sad to see a judge go rogue like this.”

“It’s a shame,” Spicer continued, “that we’re not focused more on making sure that we’re applauding the decision by the president to make a renewed focus on keeping this country safe.”

His comments are the latest blow in the White House’s salvo against Robart. Trump blasted more than a dozen tweets over the weekend, most of which included reaction to Robart’s ruling.

Perhaps most notably, Trump referred to Robart as “this so-called judge” and slammed his “ridiculous” and “terrible” ruling, which he vowed would be overturned.

“Bad people are very happy!” he tweeted about the ruling, while adding in another post, “If something happens blame him and court system.”