Leaders await appeals

Oregon leaders await appeals court ruling after frosty reception from judges

From CNN's Andy Rose

The future of National Guard troops now standing by for deployment in Portland, Oregon, is in the hands of a three-judge appeals panel in San Francisco, following a hearing in which the conservative majority expressed skepticism that President Trump’s orders could be constrained.

“The President gets to direct his resources as he deems fit,” said Judge Ryan D. Nelson, one of two Trump appointees on the Ninth Circuit panel. “It just seems a little counterintuitive to me that the City of Portland can come in and say, ‘No, you need to do it differently.’”

The attorney representing Oregon argued that the protests outside the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility that have been going on for months are no longer experiencing the violence cited by Trump in his original order and the current clashes can be handled by non-military means.

“We have a ton of law enforcement agencies under the President’s control,” Oregon Assistant Attorney General Stacy Chaffin said, adding responding to threats “is their job. That’s what they do.”

The appeals court did not give a timetable for when it will make a decision.

Even if the Trump administration gets the stay they are requesting, Guardsmen would still be prohibited from mobilizing in Oregon under a separate order by District Court Judge Karin Immergut, who is also a Trump appointee to the bench. But administration attorney Eric McArthur said if their appeal is successful, they will ask Immergut to immediately cancel her order, which is scheduled to expire on October 19.