Travel Ban Challengers Demand Trump Hand Over Rudy Giuliani's 'Muslim Ban' Memo

“The Government is engaged in a shell game to keep the Giuliani Memo out of reach of Plaintiffs and the Court, variously resorting to breathtaking assertions of presidential immunity, threats of future claims of privilege, and bizarre contortions of normal discovery practice, all while refusing even to search for a single document or respect this Court’s May 11 Order,” read the challengers’ motion .

A number of judges, including those who ruled against the travel ban on Thursday, have taken notice of a Fox News interview — conducted one day after Trump signed his original executive order — in which Giuliani said Trump consulted with him on how to “legally” enact the Muslim ban he promised during his campaign .

“Giuliani was quite clear that the President wanted to enact a ‘Muslim ban’ and had assembled a commission to study how to create a ‘Muslim ban’ legally,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker in a concurring opinion agreeing that statements made after a president takes office are relevant to the case.

In a strange twist earlier this week, Giuliani told a judge in an unrelated New York case  that he played no role in crafting and drafting the executive order banning travelers from several predominantly Muslim nations from entering the country — an apparent contradiction that could raise suspicions for Judge Roberts, who is handling the dispute over the memo.

Jason Raofield, an attorney with the legal team trying to get hold of the memo, suggested in an interview that the government’s claim the document is beyond their reach and had no bearing on the content of the executive order is an attempt on Trump’s end to take them for fools.

“How gullible does he think we are, and what is he hiding?” Raofield said.

A ruling from Roberts is expected in the coming days or weeks, as is another ruling in a separate travel ban challenge brought by the state of Hawaii.