The Log Cabin Republicans are reporting that the Department of Justice is filing an emergency motion with the 9th Circuit asking it to reconsider its order last week which effectively halted the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.
UPDATE, from The Air Force Times:
The Justice Department urged the court to issue a decision by the end of the day Friday…
…Justice Department lawyers said in Thursday's motion that ending the ban now would pre-empt the "orderly process" for rolling back the 17-year-old policy as outlined in the law passed and signed by the president in December.
"Congress made quite clear that it believed the terms of the transition were critical to the credibility and success of this historic policy change, and to ensure continued military effectiveness," according to a statement from the Justice Department.
"Any court-ordered action forced upon the military services so close to the completion of this repeal policy pre-empts the deliberate process established by Congress and the President to ensure an orderly and successful transition of this significant policy change," the department said.
From the Log Cabin Republicans:
“This latest maneuver by the President continues a pattern of doublespeak that all Americans should find troubling. All this does is further confuse the situation for our men and women in uniform,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director, combat veteran and captain in the United States Army Reserve. “Let me be clear – the president is asking the court for the power to continue threatening servicemembers with investigation and discharge, and the right to turn away qualified Americans from military service for no reason other than their sexual orientation. Even if the administration never uses that power, it is still wrong, and the Ninth Circuit was clear that there is no justification for continuing the violation of servicemembers' constitutional rights. ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is an offense to American values that should have been gone long ago. It is shameful that a president who has taken credit for opposing the policy is taking extreme measures to keep it on life support.”
"The motion that the government filed today has no other purpose than to request – on an emergency basis – that the military be permitted to investigate and discharge servicemembers, and block new enlistments, based solely on those individuals' sexuality,” said Dan Woods, partner of White & Case and lead attorney in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States. “The government's request is inexplicable on any other basis."
Chris Geidner at MetroWeekly has a further look at all this.
Previously…
Court Orders U.S. to Halt DADT Discharges [tr]
