Judge stays order for Kris Kobach to turn over documents from Trump meeting

A federal magistrate judge has agreed to stay an order requiring Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to hand over documents from a meeting with President Donald Trump pending the results of an appeal.

Judge James O’Hara in Kansas City, Kan., ordered Kobach Monday to provide the documents to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of the discovery process for an ongoing federal lawsuit seeking to overturn a Kansas law that requires voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, when they registered to vote.

However, O’Hara agreed to stay that order Sunday, granting Kobach time to appeal the decision to U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson.

Robinson will determine whether Kobach should be compelled to hand over documents from a November meeting with Trump that took place shortly after the election.

Kobach was photographed carrying a stack of documents outlining a strategic plan for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the photograph revealed a reference to voting rolls. The ACLU has argued that if Kobach lobbied Trump on changes to federal voting law, the information contained in the documents is relevant to the lawsuit.

Kobach has argued that the documents are protected by Trump’s executive privilege, an argument O’Hara rejected in his previous order after noting that Kobach is not a member of the executive branch.

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Judge stays order for Kris Kobach to turn over documents from Trump meeting."