Watch: Washington state AG says, ‘No one is above the law — not even the president’

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Attorney General Bob Ferguson spoke on the steps of the United States Courthouse in Seattle after a federal judge approved a restraining order by Washington state to immediately halt President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Watch the replay of the Facebook Live video above (starting at 6:30 mark) to hear Ferguson and his team address Friday’s victory.

Washington tech companies Amazon, Microsoft and Expedia have declared their support of the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this week. The state of Minnesota has also joined the suit, while several other states have filed their own.

In Ferguson’s complaint, the attorney general details several cases where Washington residents were affected by the order. One case involves an Iranian-born Facebook employee who was in Canada watching his little brother perform in a high school play. According to the complaint, the employee was advised by his immigration attorney to rush back across the border before the executive order took effect.

“The President’s Executive Order of January 27, 2017, is separating Washington families, harming thousands of Washington residents, damaging Washington’s economy, hurting Washington-based companies, and undermining Washington’s sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees,” the complaint reads.

Lawyers from Trump’s administration argued in a response that Washington state doesn’t have the authority to challenge the executive order and that Trump was acting within his presidential authority in issuing the order.

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