Ari Hoffman, Julia Sherman  //  6/9/17  //  Daily Update

Former F.B.I. Director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that President Trump lied about the reason for Comey’s firing and defamed Comey and the F.B.I.  Comey also testified that he was “confused and increasingly concerned” by the “shifting explanations” for his firing, and believed he was fired by President Trump over the growing Russia investigation.  Comey also testified that he orchestrated the leak of his notes of meeting with President Trump with the hope of spurring the appointment of a special prosecutor. 

PODCAST
On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss Congress's role and powers in investigations of the Executive. Then, Jason talks with Steven Wu, a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, about the case against Trump University, the active role of states in recent years, and other issues in which New York is adverse to the President.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Take Care had you covered on all things Comey today.  Check out Jed Shugerman’s big takeaways.  He focuses on the big picture here.

Comey testified that President Trump tried to derail an F.B.I. investigation and that the President lied and defamed him and the F.B.I.

Matt Flegenheimer captures Comey’s moment at the New York Times.

Todd Purdum at Politico takes stock of just how devastating Comey’s testimony was for the President.

Rebecca Ballhaus provides takeaways from Comey’s testimony for the Wall Street Journal here.

As reported in the Washington Post,Comey testified that he leaked notes on his interactions with President Trump in order to spark the appointment of a special counsel.

A New York Times op-ed columnanalyzes Comey’s written statement with an eye to the legal and political issues concerning obstruction of justice.

At The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin argues that Comey’s testimony is a “smoking gun” on obstruction of justice.  Norm Eisen and Noah Bookbinder agree.

Lawfare looks back to the Coats-Rogers testimony and executive privilege.

The Wall Street Journal expressed skepticism about Comey’s prepared remarks and the view of law enforcement “independence” that they propound.

Catch anything else you might have missed here (NYT), here (Lawfare) and here (WSJ).

Finally, Evelyn Farkas peers into the Kremlin’s relationship with Russian banks and Jared Kushner’s “secret channel.”

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

In the Washington Post, a Watergate prosecutor argues that Comey’s statement is enough to make a prima facie case for obstruction of justice.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Matthew Stephenson provides an update on the various conflict of interest issues facing the Trump Administration at The Global Corruption Blog.

RULE OF LAW

Looking ahead, The New York Times worries about the future independence of the F.B.I. under President Trump.

CHECKS & BALANCES

Be sure to check out Versus Trump, our in-house podcast here at Take Care! This week we discuss Congress’s role and powers in investigation of the executive.

At Take Care, Leah Litman takes a deep dive into the telling lack of urgency around the national security rationale for the Muslim ban.

Linda Greenhouse assesses how President Trump’s behavior might impact the Muslim ban’s fate at the Supreme Court.

Over at Reuters, Alison Frankel looks at the impact President Trump’s tweets might have on the DOJ’s efforts to argue for the Muslim ban in court.

At Constitutional Daily, Lyle Denniston notes that the Supreme Court could fast track the case if it desired, following the precedent of Dames & Moore v. Regan.

IMMIGRATION

U.S. immigration law enables modern slavery, argues Christopher Lapinig (The Atlantic).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Education Secretary DeVos’ plan for school vouchers could license discrimination against LGBTQ youth, argues Sejal Singh (Feministing).

Abstinence-only advocate Valerie Huber has been tapped for a key Department of Health and Human Services position, reports Martha Kempner (Rewire).

DEMOCRACY

President Trump isn’t the only politician blocking constituents on Twitter, notes Charles Ornstein (ABA Journal).

It is time for Congress to protect American elections and voting rights, writes Lawrence Norden (Brennan Center for Justice).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Chiraag Bains discusses at Take Care the bipartisan critique from key Senators on the Justice Department’s mandatory minimums policy.