Trump ‘Doesn't Speak With Precision,' Justice Department Argues in court to Judge
A lawyer for Donald Trump's Justice Department recently argued in court that sometimes the president just says stuff - and it doesn't matter if what Trump says is or isn't accurate, because his comments aren't necessarily reflective of the government's position on a given matter.
During an April 30 court hearing related to the government's unlawful imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, Judge Paula Xinis asked attorneys representing the Trump administration why they were saying they had no ability to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. when Trump had
publicly acknowledged he "could" compel the man's return if he wanted to. Elsewhere, she noted, Trump said he was leaving the matter up to his lawyers.
Jonathan Guynn, a Justice Department attorney,
responded: "President Trump is a master messenger in many ways, but he also doesn't speak with precision about things sometimes. And I think that this might be one of those situations where perhaps his comments were based on what he was recalling may have been the state of play previously."
Xinis was not convinced. "Isn't it basic, isn't it black letter law that the Executive Branch must speak with one voice?" she asked.
"Right now, the administration is not speaking with one voice, and I'm not here to credit one versus the other," she added. "If I can't get that one voice - and you don't give me details […] I don't know what to do with that.
Later on, Guynn said, "I can't even necessarily comment on some of the statements that President Trump has made."