Dershowitz: Supreme Court Appeal on Ban Would Take Too Long

The Trump administration would likely win its argument for a travel ban on the Supreme Court level, but it would take too long for that to happen to satisfy President Donald Trump's insistence that there is an immediate threat to national security, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said Friday.

"They have a winning argument potentially on the merits if it ever gets to the Supreme Court, especially as it relates to people who have never been in the country and have no connection to the country, [like] the family in Yemen that simply wants to get a visa," Dershowitz said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

However, the argument would take "months to win," and with Trump saying people coming in from seven Middle Eastern countries pose an immediate threat, he only has two choices: rescind his executive order or write a new one.

"There would be a conflict between Donald Trump's ego, not saying he was wrong, and the national security of the United States," said Dershowitz. "I think national security has to trump ego."

Dershowitz also said the government fell into a trap by saying there was no possibility of review on the order, but "of course the court has the power to review. You never tell a court that it doesn't have the power to review and expect that they are going to remain silent in response."

The argument for establishing the seven countries involved in the ban also was not a strong one, said Dershowitz.

"Here you have seven countries picked by the Obama administration," said Dershowitz. "We do have Islamic extremism and terrorism, so you pick seven countries that are all Muslim. Is that surprising? Should they have added in Armenia to avoid the idea?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court would not grant a stay, if the case reaches that point, because it would "create chaos," he continued.

"They have to make a very hard decision and for the sake of America, and I hope they make the right decision," said Dershowitz.

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