'Anything is allowed -- anything crazy': Judge sarcastically rips into DOJ lawyer during hearing over Trump's tariffs
Source: Law & Crime
May 22nd, 2025, 4:13 pm
An attorney with the Department of Justice faced a highly skeptical judge in Manhattan on Wednesday while defending President Donald Trump‘s new regime of international tariffs.
Arguing before a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade, DOJ lawyer Brett Shumate repeatedly saw his arguments run up against a judicial wall in the form of Senior Judge Jane A. Restani, who was appointed to the Big Apple-based court by Ronald Reagan.
During the hearing, the specialized court, empowered to hear all national and some international civil disputes over trade-related matters, considered a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by Oregon, which aims to put the kibosh on Trump’s “illegal tariffs.” The government lawyer had a particularly hard time with various arguments before Restani, while the other judges also asked exacting questions of both sides, according to courtroom reports by the Capital Press, the Globe and Mail, and the Reuters wire service.
At one point during the hearing, the DOJ lawyer offered a public policy defense of Trump’s tariffs. “The purpose of these tariffs is to create pressure,” he said, “Tariffs right now are giving the president the leverage he needs.” The judge rubbished this line of thought as immaterial, focusing instead on fundamental statutory interpretation. “It may be a very dandy plan, but it has to meet the statute,” Restani said.
Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/anything-is-allowed-anything-crazy-judge-sarcastically-rips-into-doj-lawyer-during-hearing-over-trumps-tariffs/
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