CENSUS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday [10-3-18] to block a lower court order for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to be questioned by lawyers for a group of states challenging a decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to ask people taking part in the 2020 census whether they are citizens. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan ruled on Sept. 21 that Ross, whose department oversees the Census Bureau, must face a deposition by lawyers for the states because his ‘intent and credibility are directly at issue’ in the lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in April in federal court New York, includes 18 states and a number of cities and counties, and was spearheaded by Democratic officials. The Justice Department told the Supreme Court the states should not be allowed to probe Ross’s ‘mental state’ in deciding to add the citizenship question to the census, saying that compelling testimony from high-ranking officials is rarely justified.”
–Andrew Chung, “Trump administration asks top U.S. court to intervene in census suit,” Reuters, October 4, 2018 1:08 pm