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Hetali Lodaya  //  4/15/19  //  Daily Update

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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is consulting with the Department of Justice regarding the legality and constitutionality of the request of President Trump’s tax returns. The ICC has denied a request from prosecutors to further investigate alleged war crimes by the U.S. military and CIA in Afghanistan. The White House has confirmed that the plan to send undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities is back under consideration. Acting White House Budget Director Russell Vought indicated in a memo that agency rules are now going to be subjected to closer monitoring to determine which rules are “major” and therefore required to be submitted to OIRA for review. The number of vacancies in the Trump Administration could create an unmanegeable workload for the Senate.

 

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is consulting with the Department of Justice regarding the legality and constitutionality of the request of President Trump’s tax returns. (NBC News)

President Trump’s sister, federal judge Maryanne Trump Berry, voluntarily retired, ending an investigation into whether she committed tax and financial misconduct. (Bloomberg) 

The most important legal questions in the full Mueller report will be those regarding obstruction, argues Renato Mariotti at Politico.

 

IMMIGRATION

The White House has confirmed that the plan to send undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities is back under consideration. (Politico, WSJ)

The Ninth Circuit temporarily stayed a lower court ruling to give the government time to appeal, allowing the Trump Administration to continue to deport asylum seekers back to Mexico while their claims are pending. (The Hill)

• The nationwide injunction at issue came from a District Court earlier in the week. (The Hill)
• The full order is here.

A settlement announced in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco will require the government to reunite 2,700 children living in Central America with their parents living under protected status in the U.S. (NYTimes, The Hill)

The President is considering rules that would sanction countries whose citizens overstay their visas as a way to cut down on immigration. (WSJ)

 

CIVIL RIGHTS 

The DoD’s policy regarding transgender persons serving in the military, now in effect, is profoundly dangerous, argues Graham Parsons at Just Security.

 

DEMOCRACY

The Supreme Court said that representatives for the House will be allowed to participate in oral arguments on the census question. (The Hill)

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The ICC has denied a request from prosecutors to further investigate alleged war crimes by the U.S. military and CIA in Afghanistan. (Lawfare)

• Some are suggesting that the Court gave way to pressure from the U.S., but the story is bigger than that, writes Alex Whiting at Just Security.

 

REGULATION

Acting White House Budget Director Russell Vought indicated in a memo that agency rules are now going to be subjected to closer monitoring to determine which rules are “major” and therefore required to be submitted to OIRA for review. (Government Executive)

Despite a decision from the D.C. Circuit that the agency is acting arbitrarily and capriciously, we can expect more states to get waivers from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services allowing them to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, writes Simone Hussussian at the Regulatory Review.

• The decision is here.

 

CHECKS & BALANCES

A new article by Julian Mortenson argues that our current understanding “executive power” as defined in the Constitution, particularly as a matter of history, is mostly wrong, writes Jen Patja Howell at Lawfare.

• The article is here.

The President asking subordinates to violate the law may itself be a violation of the Take Care Clause, argue Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare.

The number of vacancies in the Trump Administration could create an unmanegeable workload for the Senate, writes Andrew Duehren at the Wall Street Journal.

 

RULE OF LAW

In an amicus brief filed last week, the government urges the Ninth Circuit to find that a woman whose son was killed in Mexico by a Border Patrol agent has no right to sue in the United States. (Capitol Media Services)

• The brief is here.

 

Tags:

Immigration Rule of Law Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety

 

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