{"id":2614228,"date":"2026-06-15T12:30:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-lawyer-raised-alarms-over-stephen-miller-habeas-corpus-proposal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:35:44","slug":"white-house-lawyer-raised-alarms-over-stephen-miller-habeas-corpus-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-lawyer-raised-alarms-over-stephen-miller-habeas-corpus-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"White House lawyer raised alarms over Stephen Miller habeas corpus proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-lawyer-raised-alarms-over-stephen-miller-habeas-corpus-proposal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2614228&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A senior White House lawyer cautioned that suspending habeas corpus protections for illegal immigrants could lead to a meaningful constitutional conflict, advising President Donald Trump against adopting a strategy previously used during the Civil War under Abraham Lincoln. Internal memoranda obtained by The New York Times reveal that White House staff secretary Will Scharf discussed two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-manchin-defends-refusal-to-back-radical-democrat-agenda\/\" title=\"Sen. Manchin defends refusal to back radical Democrat agenda\">radical policy proposals<\/a> in May 2025, related to expanding executive powers in immigration enforcement. One memo addressed the constitutional importance of habeas corpus, a legal safeguard against arbitrary detention, and emphasized that only Congress, not the President alone, has the authority to suspend it, although the current Supreme Court may be more open to revisiting these issues.the second memo focused on the Insurrection Act, which allows deployment of the military for domestic law enforcement under exceptional circumstances, but warns that legal challenges could delay or nullify its effects. Neither approach was implemented, but the discussions underscored internal debates over the limits of executive authority. The management later adopted a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-war-over-trumps-immigration-detention-policy-far-from-over\/\" title=\"Legal war over Trump&#039;s ... ... ... far from over\">aggressive immigration detention policy<\/a> in July 2025, allowing many detainees to be held without bond, leading to widespread litigation over detention practices.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> lawyer warned that suspending habeas corpus protections for illegal immigrants would likely trigger a major constitutional battle, cautioning President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> against taking up a strategy once used during the Civil War era under President Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two sets of memoranda obtained by <em><em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-scharf-habeas-corpus-insurrection-act.html\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-scharf-habeas-corpus-insurrection-act.html\">New York Times<\/a><\/em> <\/em>reporters Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman revealed that White House staff secretary Will Scharf addressed a pair of more drastic policy proposals floated by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-miller\/\">Stephen Miller<\/a>, Trump\u2019s deputy chief of staff for policy, in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3407127\/trump-administration-habeas-corpus-suspension-illegal-immigration-crackdown\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">May 2025<\/a>. The memos, sent to White House chief of staff <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susie-wiles\/\">Susie Wiles<\/a>, offered a rare glimpse into internal administration debates over the limits of executive power as Trump\u2019s team pursued a concentrated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\">immigration<\/a> enforcement agenda. The <em>New York Times<\/em> published excerpts from the reporters\u2019 forthcoming book, <em>Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump<\/em>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4606726\/bill-essayli-prosecutor-center-california-election-fight\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Who is Bill Essayli, the hard-charging prosecutor at the center of California\u2019s election fight?<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4606784\/ohio-democrat-fbi-search-voter-fraud\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ohio Democrats denounce FBI search of liberal group over alleged voter fraud<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4605166\/ufc-freedom-250-fight-go-ahead-obama-judge-declines-stop\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>UFC Freedom 250 full steam ahead: Obama judge declines to stop Sunday fight<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White House staff secretary Will Scharf hands President Donald Trump an executive order to sign on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One memorandum, dated April 29, 2025, addressed the constitutional writ of habeas corpus, the legal mechanism that allows detainees to challenge the legality of their confinement before a judge.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Writ of Habeas Corpus is a legal mechanism to challenge unjust confinement, detention, or punishment,\u201d Scharf wrote. \u201cIt prevents, in effect, governmental actors from detaining, imprisoning, or executing individuals arbitrarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scharf, who is often seen passing executive orders to the president for his signature, prepared the document amid discussions inside the administration after Miller raised the possibility of suspending habeas corpus protections as part of the administration\u2019s deportation efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The memo laid out a detailed legal history of habeas corpus, tracing its roots to English common law and describing it as a foundational safeguard incorporated into the American constitutional system.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe history of habeas corpus dates back to the very dawn of English common law,\u201d Scharf wrote. \u201cDenial of habeas corpus rights was a key grievance underlying the American Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scharf noted that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/article-1\/section-9\/\">Article I, Section 9<\/a> of the Constitution permits suspension of habeas corpus only in cases of \u201crebellion or invasion\u201d and wrote that courts have generally concluded <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a>, rather than the president acting alone, possesses the authority to suspend the writ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also argued that even when Congress has suspended habeas rights, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> has required some alternative process that provides protections comparable to judicial review. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe current Supreme Court, however, is likely more amenable to revisiting these questions than any Supreme Court in living memory,\u201d Scharf wrote. The Supreme Court consists of six conservative justices, three of them nominated by Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The memo reviewed historical examples ranging from Lincoln\u2019s Civil War-era suspension of habeas corpus to Supreme Court decisions involving military detainees during World War II and the post-Sept. 11 war on terrorism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe only President to suspend habeas corpus without any underlying Congressional action, or to defy the courts with respect to habeas corpus matters, was President Lincoln,\u201d Scharf wrote, noting that Lincoln later sought and received congressional authorization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second memorandum, dated Oct. 29, 2025, focused on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3847973\/what-is-the-insurrection-act-trump-national-guard-troop-deployment\/\">Insurrection Act<\/a>, a federal law that allows presidents to deploy military forces domestically under certain circumstances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scharf described the law as a \u201cbreak-the-glass exception\u201d to the long-standing prohibition on using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-this-adam-schiff-amendment-could-have-protected-a-child-pornographer\/\" title=\"How This Adam Schiff Amendment Could Have Protected A Child Pornographer\">federal military forces<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-appeals-ruling-la-troop-deployment-violated-federal-law\/\" title=\"Trump ... appeals ruling LA troop deployment violated ...\">domestic law enforcement purposes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The memo reviewed historical uses of the statute, including actions taken by Lincoln during the Civil War, President Ulysses Grant\u2019s campaign against the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction, and President George H.W. Bush\u2019s deployment of troops during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While acknowledging that courts have historically afforded presidents broad discretion under the Insurrection Act, Scharf warned that any invocation would likely face immediate legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost legal analysts agree that the Insurrection Act does provide the President with exceptionally broad powers and authority,\u201d Scharf wrote. However, he cautioned that litigation could create significant delays and \u201cpotentially obviate any advantage to be gained in terms of the flexibility that it would provide to the President.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither proposal was ultimately implemented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement addressing the memos, the White House stressed that discussions of legal options do not necessarily reflect final policy decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMembers of the Administration often have conversations about many different lawful options to implement the President\u2019s agenda \u2014 with the President always being the ultimate decider,\u201d White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4606511\/immigrants-tens-thousands-lawsuits-trump-first-year\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">IMMIGRANTS FILED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LAWSUITS IN TRUMP\u2019S FIRST YEAR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration did, however, pursue a more aggressive immigration detention policy months later. On July 8, 2025, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> adopted a new interpretation of immigration law that allowed many immigrants arrested inside the United States to be detained without bond hearings while removal proceedings moved forward. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >policy sparked extensive litigation nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/05\/13\/mandatory-detention-ice-cases-rulings-database-00913988?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAEee5pi8QZfynhzwopoeiu0aez54kywuJgrCwBMBnees8vqXihgqZ0fu1sSFv4_aem_qA1A6eTYqnklIlIwXvpKtQ\">analysis and data collection<\/a> by <em>Politico<\/em>, federal district courts have issued more than 15,000 rulings involving the administration\u2019s immigration detention practices, with roughly 13,300 decisions going against the government. Many of the cases have challenged the administration\u2019s position that immigrants eligible for removal could be detained without an opportunity to seek release before an immigration judge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WH lawyer warns of constitutional battle over suspending habeas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2614229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26082630257417.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[54960,36382,81211,48816,32127],"class_list":["post-2614228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-habeas-corpus","tag-immigration-policy","tag-legal-alarm","tag-stephen-miller","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26082630257417.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614228"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614232,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614228\/revisions\/2614232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2614229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}