Probably the biggest point of contention with Trump s Muslim ban was that it was originally written to include everyone. Refugees, people on every type of visa we issue, and even green card holders. Green card holders are people living and working in the United States legally and permanently, and yet Trump tried to tell those who were traveling that they couldn t come back to their country of legal residence.Because that caused such a massive brouhaha that compounded the rest of the chaos surrounding implementation, White House counsel Donald F. McGahn issued  authoritative guidance  saying that the relevant sections of the order didn t apply to legal permanent residents.The administration has also made claims that courts don t have access to the classified information they do, and the 9th Circuit schooled them there, too.So here s a rub. The decision states (on pages 21 and 22): At this point, however we cannot rely upon the Government s contention that the Executive Order no longer applies to lawful permanent residents. The Government has offered no authority establishing that the White House counsel is empowered to issue an amended order superseding the Executive Order signed by the President and now challenged by the States, and that proposition seems unlikely The White House counsel is not the President, and he is not known to be in the chain of command for any of the Executive Departments. The court called Trump on the carpet for being unwilling to create, or formally authorize, any exemptions to his Muslim ban. They also implied that he was too idiotic to seek his own guidance, and/or understand that he signed the order, so nobody can amend it without specific authority.So McGahn can t actually amend the order and Trump can t get away with refusing to do real work.But that s not all. The court also nailed him on the uncertainty surrounding the order because everyone interprets it differently: Moreover, in light of the Government s shifting interpretations of the Executive Order, we cannot say that the current interpretation by White House counsel will persist past the immediate stage of these proceedings. On this record, therefore, we cannot conclude that the Government has shown that it is  absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur. So the court is basically saying,  We don t trust you. You ve given us zero reason to trust you. And here s another rub. Trump & Co. think they re the only people with access to the information needed to keep us safe, and they think that nobody outside their circle should get it because what if the bad people hear it? The 9th Circuit s schooling on that said (on page 28): [T]he Government asserts that,  [u]nlike the President, courts do not have access to classified information about the threat posed by terrorist organizations operating in particular nations, the efforts of those organizations to infiltrate the United States, or gaps in the vetting process.  But the Government may provide a court with classified information. Courts regularly receive classified information under seal and maintain its confidentiality. Rules and regulations have long been in place for that. Why? Because when a court is hearing a case about the legality of a certain policy decision, they need access to all information available, even if it s classified. Trump and his minions, though, likely believe that the courts are not to be trusted with classified info. If they truly wanted to make their case, though, once again, they would have consulted someone with expertise to see what they could and should give to the courts.When the courts have to teach the lawmakers basic things about the law, we really have to sit back and gawk at the fact that it s a wonder these orders aren t written in entirely in crayon using single-syllable words.Featured image by Andrew Harrer via Getty Images