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Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, contacted Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in the spring of 2017 and asked him to speak with Kansas State Secretary Kris Kobach about Inclusion of a citizenship issue in the census, depending on the record.
"Secretary Ross remembers that Steven Bannon had phoned Secretary Ross in the spring of 2017 to ask his secretary when he was willing to talk to Kansas State Secretary Kris Kobach about the issue. Secretary Kobach's idea regarding a possible citizenship issue in the decennial census, "the deposit says.
The filing also states that Ross spoke to Jeff Sessions, Attorney General, about the issue "Spring 2017 and at a later date".
Earlier this summer, e-mails were leaked as part of a lawsuit filed by a group of state attorneys general who dispute the addition of the issue to the court. 2020 census.
A court of appeal ordered that Ross be deposed as part of the trial.
The Department of Justice is fighting against the order and has brought the matter to the Supreme Court.
As part of the preliminary discovery, states seek to find out more about the reasons that motivated the decision of the administration. The challengers in the lawsuit allege that the administration has used the concerns raised by the law on voting rights as a pretext for hiding animosity against certain ethnicities.
"The secretary's testimony is the only way in which the district court can obtain critical facts about the reasons for the secretary's considerable efforts to add the question of citizenship – essential elements for understanding the real reasons. of the secretary, assessing the plaintiffs' claims, and finally determining whether the secretary's decision was arbitrary and capricious, "wrote New York attorney general Barbara Underwood.
The challengers believe that although Ross said that the additional question was necessary to comply with the law on the right to vote, the real intention was to reduce the representation of immigrant populations. They argue that the issue will have a negative impact on the response rate of non-citizens, who may be too afraid to make themselves known. The trial is to begin on November 5th.
In response, the Department of Justice asks the Supreme Court to reverse the decisions of the lower courts and to block the testimony. The Department of Justice has maintained that the administrative record, and not Ross' mental state, should be a factor in the case.
"In the absence of a suspension, these senior executives will be forced to prepare for and attend these depositions, and this damage can not be nullified by a possible victory over the bottom, "said Attorney General Noel Francisco in court documents earlier in the week. .
It would take five judges to accede to the government's request, and the court could rule on Thursday.
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