Obama-Appointed Judge May Block Construction of Trump's Arch

It sounds like the case to block Trump's arch wound up before a ringer. We've mentioned Judge Tanya Chutkan on the site many times over the years. It's almost always when she's doing something to help Democrats.

She was a public defender in Washington, D.C. before she was appointed to the bench in 2014 by Barack Obama. Today, she heard a case from a group of vets trying to block construction of Trump's arch. Reports say she sounded skeptical of the need to allow it to proceed.

A federal judge on Friday grilled an administration lawyer on plans to begin construction of President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch as soon as next week, at times mocking his arguments and signaling that she could pause the project.

“What is the harm of waiting?” U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan asked Assistant Attorney General Robert Stander, musing about delaying the project for several months. “What is the rush to put this arch up?”

The rush is that any delays will allow for more BS cases like this trying to block it for whatever nonsense reason the lawyers can come up with. Judge Chutkan isn't dumb. She knows that a project without momentum is one likely to die a death by a thousand cuts. 

The Justice Department is asking Chutkan to throw out a legal challenge from three Vietnam War veterans and a historic preservationist who contend the arch is unlawful because it has not received explicit approval from Congress and would harm their experience of visiting the military cemetery.

Stander on Friday argued that the veterans and preservationist cannot prove that they would be harmed by the project, invoking arguments similar to those which helped defeat a legal challenge to Trump’s White House ballroom. The Supreme Court in August ruled 5-4 that a historic preservationist likely could not prove that she would be harmed by construction of the ballroom and therefore lacked legal grounds to sue. That ruling cleared the way for Trump’s ballroom to continue.

“It’s the same thing,” Stander said.

Chutkan drew a distinction between the two cases, noting that in the ballroom litigation, a preservationist said she routinely walked past the White House, while in the current case, veterans have said their experience of viewing and visiting the military cemetery would be altered by the towering arch nearby.

So the Supreme Court just said two months ago that a preservationists' feelings about the White House weren't grounds for blocking construction. But according to Judge Chutkan, that doesn't mean that the feelings of a handful of veterans who visit Arlington Cemetery shouldn't block construction of an arch that is nearby.

The Vietnam veterans who sued over the arch — and who described deep personal connections to the “hallowed ground” of Arlington Cemetery and its surroundings — had a more compelling case that might pass Supreme Court muster, the judge said during a hearing...

The hearing featured testimony from the lead plaintiff in the case, Michael Lemmon, who described routine trips to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery to visit the graves of friends he fought alongside in Vietnam. He said the unobstructed view from the Lincoln Memorial to the cemetery was an important aspect of those visits. He also said he recoiled at the thought of hundreds of onlookers watching solemn ceremonies in Arlington National Cemetery from the arch’s observation deck — giving it the feeling of “entertainment” rather than somber reflection.

The idea that one person can shut down construction by arguing that the changing sight lines will hurt his feelings is pretty remarkable. Lemmon should be free to visit the cemetery like anyone else, but he's not in charge of architectural planning in the city. Neither is Judge Chutkan, though she seems to be trying on that role at the moment.

In what she acknowledged as an unusual move, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan allowed Lemmon to give a short testimony as she considered whether to stop construction of President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch, which will obstruct the line of sight between the National Mall and the cemetery. Those hearings are usually limited to arguments from lawyers and questions from the presiding judge...

Wendy Liu, a lawyer representing the veterans, said the government’s argument diminished the experience of the veterans who often visit the graves of their friends at Arlington National Cemetery. Each has experienced “profound and personal” moments while paying their respects, which would be “personally taken away” by the arch’s looming presence, Liu said.

The arch will not take away anyone's experience at a gravesite. The Post tried to sell that nonsense this week with a story about shadows before the cemetery even opens. This is just more partisanship in search of an excuse. It's tiresome.

Judge Chutkan has promised to render her decision over the weekend. I expect more nonsense followed swiftly by another rebuke from the Supreme Court.

Editor's Note: Unelected federal judges are obstructing President Trump's agenda and ignoring the will of the people.

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