Brief by McCuskey, other AGs supports Guard troops in D.C.

CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey and other conservative AGs from across the country have filed a brief supporting the use of National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

The amicus brief was filed less than a week after two West Virginia National Guard members were shot – one fatally – in an attack in downtown D.C. The WVNG has between 160 and 170 members still in Washington.

The brief was filed December 2 in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. McCuskey and South Carolina AG Alan Wilson led the brief that also was signed by 22 other AGs.

“Four months ago, President Trump acted swiftly and effectively,” the brief states. “Using his constitutional and statutory authority, President Trump deployed the National Guard to safeguard the city.

“This mission has already produced strong results, but still more work must be done, and danger still lingers. Just last week, an Afghani national committed a heinous terror attack, shooting two National Guardsmen at close range and murdering one.”

WVNG Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died on Thanksgiving. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.

Before the attack, a federal judge said the deployment of National Guard members from several states was unlawful. But the judge issued a stay until December 11 for appeal and to prevent any potential disruptions. The Trump administration has filed an appeal, arguing the deployment is “plainly lawful.”

The brief filed by McCuskey and the other conservative AGs agree with Trump, saying he has constitutional authority to use federal troops in the nation’s capital. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey was one of the first to answer Trump’s call for guardsman to report to D.C.

In the brief, the AGs say the district court’s blocking of Trump’s use of the National Guard is improper because the lawsuit is nonjusticiable, the president’s statutory authority is broad and was lawfully exercised and the stay factors all favor the federal government.

The other AGs who signed the brief are from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

The solicitor generals of both West Virginia and South Carolina also signed the brief as well as attorneys Jason Torchinsky, Kellen Dwyer, David P. Johnson, Brandon Smith and Mark Pinkert of Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak.