Court Rules that Trump Can’t Hide Info on His Transgender Exclusion Order

President Trump has been sued to overturn his tweet-announced policy of excluding transgender service people and contactors.

The White House argued before a federal court that executive privilege created a blanket immunity from provided information for how the policy has been developed, discussed, modified and implemented.

Trump announced his policy on Twitter on July 26, 2017, citing "consultation with my Generals and military experts" and the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of transgender service members.

Several federal judges have blocked that ban, which reversed a year-old Obama administration policy, or a narrower version announced in March 2018.

The military began accepting transgender recruits this year even as the White House continued to litigate.

Trump had tweeted less than a month after Defense Secretary James Mattis delayed by six months a decision whether to admit such recruits, pending a review of its potential impact.

On Tuesday, Judge Copperthite rejected the White House arguments that the "deliberative process privilege" justified shielding documents sought by the ACLU.

Finding it hard to believe that "circumstances regarding readiness and deployability have changed so dramatically," the judge said the documents were likely to show the government's intent behind the ban, and whether it was for military purposes or "purely for political and discriminatory purposes."

Copperthite also said Trump's tweets "put the President front and center as the potential discriminating official," but that presidential confidentiality deserved "the greatest possible protection," justifying a delay in a ruling on Trump.

PS: There is an aspect to the order that affects reservists. In a separate lawsuit, Doe 1 v. Trump, a federal district court enjoined enforcement of the president’s Twitter-stated policy to end to the admission and continuing service of transgender military members.  The president’s broad ban affected the employment of Jane Doe 4, a reservist employed by the Department of Defense following her service in Iraq and South Korea.