---

Ian Eppler, Sarah Mahmood  //  4/12/18  //  Daily Update

---

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg concluded two days of testimony on Capitol Hill. The Justice Department will temporarily suspend the Vera Institute of Justice’s Legal Orientation Program, which provides legal assistance to detained immigrants facing deportation, as it audits the program’s cost-effectiveness. White House deputy national security adviser for strategy Nadia Schadlow has resigned, making her the third senior National Security Council official to leave since John Bolton was appointed national security adviser. The FBI raid on the office of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, sought records related to the “Access Hollywood” tape in addition to records related to payments to Stormy Daniels. A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from termination by President Trump, and the Judiciary Committee will likely hold a vote within the next week.

 

IMMIGRATION

The Justice Department will temporarily suspend the Vera Institute of Justice’s Legal Orientation Program, which provides legal assistance to detained immigrants facing deportation, as it audits the program’s cost-effectiveness (CNN).

The ACLU has sued the Trump Administration for separating families while a noncitizen spouse was seeking lawful immigration status (Reuters).

 

DEMOCRACY

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg concluded two days of testimony on Capitol Hill (NYT).

• A transcript of his testimony can be found here (WaPo).

In spite of the Trump Administration’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, automatic voter registration is on the rise (ACLU).

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

President Trump has signed anti-sex trafficking legislation that targets websites which knowingly host sex trafficking content (NYT).

• Many sex workers oppose the legislation, for fear that it will endanger their safety by forcing them onto the streets and reducing their ability to screen clients (CNN).

In response to President Trump’s clear public warning to strike Syria, the Syrian government is securing important weapons systems and has moved its key aircraft (NYT).

White House deputy national security adviser for strategy Nadia Schadlow has resigned, making her the third senior National Security Council official to leave since John Bolton was appointed national security adviser (Politico).

Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who was removed last summer from his position at the National Security Council, will now serve as national security adviser to Attorney General Jeff Sessions (NYT).

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming that President Trump’s financial disclosure forms are inadequate (Politico).

 

REGULATION

President Trump signed an executive order instructing agencies to issue regulations that impose work requirements for federal aid programs such as Medicaid and food stamps (WSJ).

The Trump administration is evaluating ways to use the Commodity Credit Corporation to support farmers harmed by Chinese tariffs on agricultural products (WaPo).

 

RULE OF LAW

The FBI raid on the office of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, sought records related to the “Access Hollywood” tape in addition to records related to payments to Stormy Daniels (NYT, WaPo).

• In the New York Post, Rick Hasen contends that Michael Cohen’s payment to Stormy Daniels was likely an illegal campaign contribution under the circumstances.
• “Hush money” such as the payment by Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels should not be treated as a campaign contribution under campaign finance laws, suggests Brad Smith in the Wall Street Journal.

The “cycles of panicked reactions to Trump” that have recurred over the course of his presidency may be constraining President Trump’s behavior, writes Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare.

Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor who has been a consistent defender of President Trump in the media, has become an increasingly frequent confidant and legal advisor to President Trump, report Annie Karni and Eliana Johnson in Politico.

 

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to hold hearings on a new Authorization for Use of Military Force, but the proposed resolution repeats the mistakes of the 2001 AUMF and hands over too much power to President Trump, argues Rita Siemion at Just Security.

• President Trump’s behavior is a good reason for Congress to refrain from giving up its Constitutional authority over war, contends Gene Healy at Cato@Liberty.

 

FEDERALISM

California Gov. Jerry Brown accepted federal funding for a limited deployment of National Guard troops to the California-Mexico border, but said that he would not allow troops to work on immigration enforcement against asylum seekers or border wall construction (WaPo).

 

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

President Trump attempted to shut down the Special Counsel investigation in December 2017 based on reports that the Special Counsel was investigating his businesses, report Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt in the New York Times.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from termination by President Trump, and the Judiciary Committee will likely hold a vote within the next week (Politico, WaPo, WSJ).

After Rep. Devin Nunes threatened to impeach senior Department of Justice officials, the Department turned over a document that initiated the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia in 2016 to the House Intelligence Committee (Politico).

 

Tags:

Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Checks & Balances Federalism Regulation Democracy Justice & Safety Russian Interference

 

VIEW MORE