Donald Trump travel ban: 'Blame judge and courts if America is attacked' - president hits out ahead of legal battle

• Donald Trump: judge who blocked ban put US in "peril"

• Appeals court blocks Trump administration's request for stay

• Both sides will file briefs before court decides whether to reinstate ban

• Donald Trump, when asked about Vladimir Putin, says US isn't 'so innocent'​

• Travellers from seven once-banned countries land in US

• ​Protests in London, New York, Washington and around the world

• Questions and answers on the travel and refugee ban

President Donald Trump has declared that the judge who blocked his travel ban will be responsible if America is attacked.

Mr Trump said Judge James Robart had placed America in "peril", by allowing citizens of seven Muslim majority countries that had been barred from entering the US to come "pouring in" to the country.

Meanwhile the Trump administration says it will use “every legal means” to reinstate Mr Trump’s executive order on refugees and immigration, but will comply with the judge’s order as the legal battle continues.

An appeals court in San Francisco early Sunday morning rejected the justice department's request for an emergency stay of Mr Robart’s order that the ban be suspended nationwide.

Hours earlier Mr Trump had expressed confidence that the stay would be granted

“We’ll win,” he said at a gala at his Mar a Lago resort in Florida. “For the safety of the country, we’ll win.”

After the request was denied, though, the president and his allies began preparing for a legal fight that is likely to end at the US Supreme Court.

Mike Pence, the vice-president, defended the ban and the president in series of interviews earlier on Sunday while the president remained uncharacteristically quiet.

“We're going to continue to use all legal means at our disposal to stay that order and move forward to take the steps necessary to protect our country,” Mr Pence told Fox News.

Mr Pence also said he did not believe Mr Trump’s attacks on Mr Robart as a “so-called judge” who issued a “ridiculous” ruling were a threat to the constitutional separation of powers.

“I think the American people are very accustomed to this president speaking his mind and speaking very straight with them,” he told ABC.

But while the president had seemed to question Mr Robart’s authority, Mr Pence said there was no doubt that he had the power to block the ban.

“He certainly does, and that's why the administration is complying with that order as we speak," he said.

Washington and Minnesota, the two states whose lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ban led to Mr Robart’s order, were expected to make further filings on Sunday, while the Trump administration will have a further opportunity to make its case in briefs to be filed Monday.

With the ban on citizens of seven Muslim majority countries in legal limbo, once-banned travellers continued to enter the US.

After the ban was blocked, Mr Trump issued a series of tweets warning that “bad and dangerous people” would begin flowing into the US.

A fresh ruling on whether the ban will remain blocked could come as early as Monday afternoon though many experts expect the process to take considerably longer.

3:55AM

Trump hails Super Bowl win

Donald Trump has hailed the comeback victory by the Patriots in the Super Bowl final. 

Much has been made of the president's friendship with Brady, who has evaded questions about his support for the president. 

2:18AM

Iranian grad student returns to US after she was sent back

An Iranian graduate student expelled shortly after president Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US has returned to America after a judge halted the order, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sara Yarjani was among those caught in a confusing legal limbo after Trump the order on January 27, about seven hours before Ms Yarjani landed in Los Angeles on a flight from Oslo, the LA Times reported.

Ms Yarjani arrived on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport. She has a valid two-year student visa, the newspaper reports. On January 27, armed customs agents ultimately escorted Yarjani to a plane bound for Vienna, where she had been visiting family, the LA Times reported.

Her sister, Sahar Muranovic hugged her when she arrived at LAX.

Ms Yarjani thanked Americans for their support.

"Whenever I was in Europe ... if ever anybody criticized America, I would be the one defending it and saying, 'You know, whatever you say, I feel that some of the greatest, most beautiful, most accomplished people also live in that land,' " she told the LA Times. "From everything I've seen with the love and support from last week, that's even more true."

1:04AM

Airbnb says "we accept" in Super Bowl LI ad

Airbnb debuted a politically charged ad during Super Bowl LI in an apparent dig at Donald Trump's travel ban.

The 30-second ad features features shows a multiracial, mutlicultural cast of faces as words string out: "We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept," followed by the hashtag #weaccept.

In a statement, the tech company, whose app helps people find lodging, follows up on an announcement last week that the Airbnb community will provide free housing to refugees and those barred from entering the US.

"Today we're setting a goal to provide short-term housing over the next five years for 100,000 people in need," the company's founders say in the statement. 

The founders acknowledge "challenges" faced by the  company in the past. 

"The painful truth is that guests on Airbnb have experienced discrimination, something that is the very opposite of our values. We know we have work to do and are dedicated to achieving greater acceptance in our community," the statement says.

The hashtag has started gaining traction on social media with celebrities and politicians including American Football legend Joe Montana and former US secretary of state John Kerry among others.

11:18PM

President takes a break from judge rant

Mr Trump has taken to Twitter again - and this time it's not about the judge who blocked his controversial immigration ban. 

11:08PM

Pence to lead fraud probe

Donald Trump says he will put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of a commission to probe what he believes was voter fraud in last November's election.

There is an overwhelming consensus among state officials, election experts, and politicians that voter fraud is rare in the United States, but Mr Trump has repeatedly said he thinks perhaps millions of votes cast in the November 8 election were fraudulent.

"I'm going to set up a commission to be headed by Vice President Pence and we're going to look at it very, very carefully," Trump told Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly in an interview aired on Sunday night.

Mr Trump captured the presidency by winning enough of the state-by-state Electoral College votes to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Still, Mrs Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, piling up an overwhelming majority in deeply Democratic states like California. 

9:05PM

Trump: Judge will be responsible if America is attacked

7:37PM

Where do we go from here?

The 9th circuit appeals court has denied an initial request for an emergency stay of Judge James Robart's ruling which blocked the travel ban, but said it will still consider the Trump administration's case. Things could still move pretty quickly, so here's what to watch out for.

1. Washington and Minnesota, the states bringing the lawsuit, have until midnight on the west coast to file additional briefs setting out their case.

2. The justice department has until 3pm Pacific time (11pm GMT) on  Monday to counter with briefs of their own, explaining why Mr Robart was wrong to block the ban

3. The court will then issue a ruling, as early as Monday night but quite possibly later in the week, on whether to overrule Mr Robart and reinstate the ban.

4. Whichever side loses will almost certainly appeal which means the case is destined for...

5. The Supreme Court

4:43PM

Trump on 'killer' Putin- 'so our country's so innocent?'

Donald Trump is under fire for drawing an apparent moral equivalency between the US and the regime of Vladimir Putin in Russia, suggesting that while Mr Putin may be a "killer", the US is not "so innocent" either.

Mr Trump told Fox News that he respects the Russian president, while adding that he might not "get along with him" later in his presidency.

He then appeared to defend Mr Putin when asked why a "killer" had his respect.

"There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" he replied.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said there was a "clear distinction" between the US and Russia, though he declined to denounce the president's statement.

Other Republicans went further. 

"There is no moral equivelency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom loving nation in the history of the world and the murderous thugs" Mr Putin surrounds himself with, Senator Ben Sasse told ABC.

Democrats and some Republicans have attacked Mr Trump for months for allegedly "cosying up to Putin", noting that while the president has vehemently criticised leaders like Barack Obama and Germany's Angela Merkel, he never seems to have a negative word to say about the Russian president.

In the same Fox News interview, Mr Trump stood by his claim that millions of fraudulent votes were cast in the 2016 election.

"Well, many people have come out and said I am right, you know that," he said, despite the fact that his claims have been debunked.

2:59PM

Another day, another round for Trump

Mr Trump is back at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. He played a round yesterday and it appears he is likely to tee off again shortly. Mr Trump is a keen golfer, but was also a major critic of Barack Obama's golf habit.

2:35PM

Vice-president: Judge has authority to block ban

Mike Pence has said Judge James Robart, referred to by Donald Trump as a "so-called judge", has the authority to take the actions he did.

 “He certainly does, and that's why the administration is complying with that order as we speak," he told ABC.

Mr Pence says he does not think it is dangerous for the separation of powers to have the president call Mr Robart a "so-called judge", however.

"The American people are very accustomed to this president speaking his mind," he says.

2:19PM

Citizens from countries affected by ban board planes to US

Sara Elizabeth Williams reports on the citizens of seven once-banned countries who are now scrambling to reach the US:

US visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries blocked by President Donald Trump are taking advantage of a temporary reprieve and boarding planes to American destinations. 

Four major airlines said that they will permit passengers holding a valid visa from the seven named countries to board US-bound flights. Gulf carriers Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, as well as Air France, made the announcement on Saturday. Not all Middle Eastern airlines have done so, resulting in uncertainty for would-be passengers.

The reappearance of previously-banned passengers will add to increasingly chaotic scene at airports across the world. Major airports across the US have been the site of demonstrations for more than a week, as citizens protested the travel ban.

The shift follows a Friday ruling from US federal judge James Robart that suspended Mr Trump's week-old entry ban for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The judge said certain sections of the order were "contrary to the Constitution". In the following hours, US Customs and Border Protection told major US airlines that holders of valid US visas from these countries were to be admitted. 

On Saturday, Mr Trump tweeted his disapproval. "The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!"

Also happy will be thousands of people whose American travel and immigration plans ended abruptly nine days ago. A spokesman for the US State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs put the number of visas cancelled because of the ban at just under 60,000.

Over the weekend, social media channels were full of photographs of tear-filled reunions in US airports as passengers from the named countries arrived at their destinations. Many of those new arrivals started their journey under the ban. As the day unfolds, it remains to be seen how many previously banned visa-holders arrive at their US destinations. 

Several Iraqi translators reached by the Telegraph, all of whom worked with the US military and had qualified for the Special Immigrant Visa, said they refused to see the ban as a firm ending. Friday's news offered them and their families the first rays of hope after an exceptionally dark week.

2:00PM

Appeals court could still side with Trump

The legal battle is not over yet in the 9th circuit court of appeals. The court blocked the justice department's request for immediate intervention to reinstate the ban, but the Trump administration still has the opportunity to file a brief laying out its case on Monday.

Still, it is certainly a victory for opponents of the ban, and Mr Trump's first Tweets of the day should be interesting.

12:28PM

Victoria Cross hero held up and "humiliated" by Trump clampdown

Johnson Beharry, the British war hero who became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for more than 20 years in 2005, has described his "humiliation" after he was held up by US border officials during Donald Trump's immigration clampdown.

The war veteran arrived at New York's JFK airport hours after the president ordered travel restrictions on January 27. Long delays at immigration meant he missed a veterans' event where he was due to be a guest of honour.

Lance Sergeant Beharry, who was born in Grenada and was injured in the conflict in 2004, said he faced a wait of nearly three hours to reach the border where his passport was further scrutinised.

As a 24-year-old private he saved around 30 comrades from the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment, in two acts of heroism at Al-Amarah.

The 37-year-old told the Sun on Sunday he suspected he had been viewed with suspicion because of his travel to Iraq and his appearance.

He said: "I felt humiliated. I think they held me because my passport showed I had been to Iraq. Maybe I am a bit Asian-looking but that doesn't mean I should be treated with the same suspicion as a terrorist.

“Because of my injuries, I suffer pain in my back if I stand for too long. There were about 800 of us in this tiny queue pen watching as lots of Americans were whisked through. "

"I explained that I had been in Iraq fighting for the British Army but they didn't seem to care. The officials only let me in after I kicked up a fuss. It was the worst travel experience of my life."

10:45AM

Kuwait denies travel ban

Kuwait has denied a media report which said it had imposed a travel ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, a story which US President Donald Trump appeared to praise on Facebook.

"Smart!" a post on Trump's official Facebook page said on Thursday, linking to a report on Jordanian news website Al Bawaba which alleged that Kuwait had "mirrored" a decision by the Trump administration to temporarily bar travellers from several countries.

The article alleged that "Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghans" would not be allowed to enter the Gulf state "while the blanket ban is in place".

But Kuwait's foreign ministry refuted the report, which was widely picked up by news websites popular with Trump supporters including Breitbart, Infowars and Sputnik.

Kuwait "categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities ... have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights," a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying on state news agency KUNA.

Citizens of the countries mentioned visit Kuwait regularly, it added.

9:50AM

Iran to lift ban on US wrestlers

 Iranian media are saying the country has lifted a ban on US wrestlers, allowing them to take part in the Freestyle World Cup later this month in the Iranian city of Kermanshah.

The Sunday report by the semi-official Fars news agency quotes Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying that the ban was lifted after the "discriminative restrictions" on Iranian nationals travelling to the US was suspended by a US federal judge.

9:49AM

Go-it-alone strategy failing within weeks

Associated Press's Ken Thomas reports: 

9:46AM

Protest sign of the day...

9:44AM

Trumps attend charity Gala

 As the courts were wrestling over the status of Donald Trump's travel ban last night, the president and first lady Melania attended the 60th Annual Red Cross Gala at Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida... 

9:31AM

Justice department expected to reply Monday

Reuters reports: 

9:10AM

BREAKING: Appeals court denies Trump request

The US appeals court says it has denied the Trump administration's request to immediately reinstate its ban on travelers and refugees.

3:07AM

Donald Trump confident of court victory

"We'll win. For the safety of our country, we'll win," Mr Trump has said as the Department of Justice started the process of trying to overturn Judge James Robart's ruling.

But Michael Wildes, who was Melania Trump's immigration lawyer, is less sure, telling CNN the court which will hear the appeal is more liberal than the one presided over by Judge Robart.

2:34AM

Demonstrators out in force in Palm Beach

An estimated 3,000 demonstrators have take to the streets in Florida where Donald Trump is spending the weekend.

The march started outside Trump Plaza, a luxury apartment block in West Palm Beach. The demonstrators then walked two miles to Mr Trump's  Mar-a-Lago resort, where the International Red Cross is holding a fundraiser.

1:07AM

Where are the judges?

There are three judges who are on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rota to hear the Department of Justice appeal. They are based in San Francisco, Hawaii and Arizona. Legal analysts believe that they are likely to work via email and conference call rather than meet in person.

The ninth circuit has set up a website for those who want to follow the case in detail. 

12:31AM

Department of Justice files notice to  appeal against travel ban ruling 

The Department of Justice has filed a notice to  appeal against the ruling by a Seattle court which suspended Donald Trump's immigration ban imposed on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspending refugee entry to the US.

The appeal has been lodged with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been asked to overturn the ruling by federal Judge James Robart, a George W. Bush appointee.

12:03AM

Muslim owner of NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars attacks immigration ban 

Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the US - and Fulham Football Club in the UK - has attacked Donald Trump's immigration ban. Born in Pakistan and now a US citizen Mr Khan, 66, spoke out against the order on the eve of the Super Bowl. The only Muslim owner of an NFL team, Mr Khan is a registered Republican.

“The bedrock of this country are immigration and really a great separation between church and state,” he told the New York Times. He said he was heartened by the decision of a judge in Seattle to impose a temporary block on the president's executive order.

10:27PM

Donald Trump resumes his Twitter attack

 The US president is not backing down and warns that the Seattle court's decision could pose a threat to the US

9:09PM

Protests across the US to Trump's travel ban

Here's a look at the protests in Salt Lake City, Utah:

Meanwhile at LAX airport in Los Angeles, both supporters and opponents of the ban have gathered. 

9:06PM

Trump is back from golf, and back on Twitter

After a visit to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the president is back on Twitter and still fuming about  Judge Robart's order.

5:11PM

Trump takes on a federal judge

Donald Trump has been criticised by Republicans and Democrats alike for his questioning of Judge James Robart's authority. Mr Trump called the ruling "ridiculous" and Mr Robart a "so-called judge". 

That seems to be a direct challenge to judicial independence, and the separation of powers. It is also not lost on Mr Trump's critics that Mr Robart was nominated to the federal judiciary by George W Bush and confirmed unanimously by the Senate.

Ed Miliband has given his, sarcastic, response:

3:44PM

The ban, the ruling and where we go from here

What did Donald Trump’s travel ban do?

Mr Trump signed an executive order on 27 January banning citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - from the US, temporarily suspending America’s refugee programme and barring Syrian refugees from the country indefinitely. The state department invalidated some 60,000 visas from citizens of those seven countries, travellers were held at airports around the US and thousands more were not allowed to board planes to the US.

What was the ruling and what does it mean?

A federal judge in Seattle ruled that the order be suspended temporarily “on a nationwide basis”, meaning government officials had to stop enforcing it and once-banned travellers could enter the country, on the grounds that the order was causing  “immediate and irreparable injury” and may be ruled unconstitutional. The state department reissued visas that had been invalidated, and airlines began to allow citizens of the seven countries to board planes to the US. The department of homeland security also said it would comply with the judge's order.

Who is the judge who blocked the ban?

Judge James Robart was nominated for the federal judiciary by George W Bush in 2004, and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Mr Trump has referred to him as a “so-called judge”, but while the merits of his ruling are being fiercely debated in Washington his authority to issue it is clear.

What was the president’s reaction?

The White House issued a statement late Friday night announcing the justice department would seek an emergency stay to reinstate the ban. The statement originally called the ruling “outrageous” but, apparently in defence to judicial independence, the word was removed. Mr Trump was less cautious, calling the ruling “ridiculous” and vowing it would be swiftly overturned.

What happens next?

The department of justice will have to convince a federal court that Mr Trump was within his authority to issue the ban, and that the order blocking it should be overturned. If the department obtains the emergency stay on Mr Robart’s ruling, the order will go back into effect and the visas that have been approved, rescinded and now reissued will be invalidated once more.

3:17PM

Thousands to have visas reinstated

The state department had cancelled some 60,000 visas for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen as a result of Donald Trump's ban.

The department is now reversing that step as the ban is not currently in effect. The question is whether citizens of those countries will receive their visas and be able to travel to the US before the Trump administration obtains an emergency stay of the judge's ruling, if such a stay is issued.

The process is chaotic and filled with uncertainty, pitting the executive and judicial branches against one another.

2:32PM

The commander-in-chief has his say

2:31PM

The ban, explained

2:30PM

What just happened?

David Millward on what took place overnight:

Donald Trump's travel ban on individuals from seven Muslim majority countries has been thrown into doubt by a judge who ruled that it was unlawful.

US District Judge James Robart upheld cases brought by two states - Washington and Minnesota - and granted an order effectively suspending the order issued by Mr Trump on Jan 27.

His ruling  contradicted a judgment in Boston.

Within hours of the Seattle ruling, Mr Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer issued a strongly worded statement saying that the administration would appeal what he initially described as the judge's "outrageous order".

But while the White House signalled its determination to fight the ruling, Customs and Border Protection was reported to have told airlines that it was in the process of reinstating the visas which had been rescinded by President Trump's executive order.