After the ACLU suggests including them in a Supreme Court argument
+ READ ARTICLEPresident Donald Trump considers his tweets to be official White House statements, according to Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
When asked at a press briefing whether Trump’s tweets qualify as official statements on behalf of the White House, Spicer said that he “is the President of the United States, so they’re considered official statements by the President of the United States.”
The reporter then inquired if Trump is concerned that his tweets could be used against him in matters like the proposed travel ban. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Twitter that it might include Trump’s tweets about the ban in their Supreme Court argument. The ACLU was referencing a series of tweets from the president on Saturday in which he reiterated his definition of the executive order as a “ban,” rather than the “vetting system” label Spicer gave it earlier this year.
“I think we’ve made it clear with respect that the court should follow the law,” Spicer replied. “And I think the danger is real, the law is clear, and there’s no question that we should prevail at the Supreme Court.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in May that the Justice Department would ask the Supreme Court to review the case, though no timetable has been given.
Federal courts have struck down differing versions of Trump’s proposed travel bans, which Chief Judge Roger Gregory first said “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination” in his Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on May 25.