President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions inside the administration over potentially suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court, two people familiar with the consideration told CNN.
One of Trump’s top aides, Stephen Miller, confirmed publicly Friday that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, adding that it “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
Both the private discussions and Miller’s public comments show this is under serious consideration inside the West Wing.
While Trump has not explicitly mentioned habeas corpus in public, it’s what he was referencing last month when he commented on steps he could take to combat nationwide injunctions against his actions on deportations, according to one of the people familiar with the talks.
“There are ways to mitigate it and there’s some very strong ways,” Trump told reporters April 30. “There’s one way that’s been used by three very highly respected presidents, but we hope we don’t have to go that route. But there is one way used successfully by three presidents – all highly respected – and hopefully we don’t have to go that way but there are ways of mitigating it.”
It remains unclear whether this is something the administration will actually pursue, and experts say it will likely generate legal challenges. The White House declined to comment beyond Miller’s statement.
