Jacob Miller, Ian Eppler  //  4/18/18  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court struck down a law allowing deportation of some immigrants who commit serious crimes as unconstitutional due to vagueness by a vote of 5-4, with Justice Gorsuch joining Justices Kagan, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer in the majority. James Comey’s public criticism of President Trump during his book tour may hurt his image as fully apolitical. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would not take up a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller against termination by President Trump. In a move backed by Congressional Democrats, the Department of the Interior decided not to reduce royalty rates on offshore drilling, overriding the recommendations of an advisory panel. The 9th Circuit will appoint a special prosecutor to defend the criminal contempt conviction of Joe Arpaio after he was pardoned by President Trump.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION 

James Comey’s public criticism of President Trump during his book tour may hurt his image as fully apolitical,  write Jonathan Martin and Julie Hirschfeld Davis for the New York Times.

• James Comey’s book promotion helps President Trump as Comey has surrendered the moral high ground he previously claimed, writes Frank Bruni for the New York Times.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would not take up a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller against termination by President Trump (The Hill, Politico, WaPo).

• But several House Republicans endorsed the bill (Politico).
• Several advocacy groups urged Congress to pass legislation protecting the special counsel.

A special master should review files seized from Trump attorney Michael Cohen to protect his Fourth Amendment rights, argues Brett Max Kaufman of the ACLU. 

There is no need to appoint a special master in Michael Cohen’s case, and the use of special procedures because of the relationship of the case to President Trump would have troubling implications, contends Edward Foley at Notice and Comment.

While firing Special Counsel Mueller cause a significant crisis, President Trump also has the even more extreme option of abolishing the office or withdrawing the Special Counsel regulation, notes Alan Morrison at the Regulatory Review.

President Trump’s misunderstanding of attorney-client privilege is characteristic of many white-collar criminal defendants, argues Liam Brennan in the Washington Post.

IMMIGRATION 

The Supreme Court should block President Trump’s Travel Ban 3.0 because it was issued on the basis of anti-Muslim animus, writes Joshua Matz for Take Care.

• Read the full amicus brief filed by Robbie Kaplan and Joshua Matz here.  

The Supreme Court struck down a law allowing deportation of some immigrants who commit serious crimes as unconstitutional due to vagueness by a vote of 5-4, with Justice Gorsuch joining Justices Kagan, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer in the majority (NYT, WaPo, Politico, LATimes).  

A report by the Cato Institute found the United States vetting of immigrants was already robust prior to President Trump’s Travel Ban (NYT).

• Read the full report here.

Half of the six contractors that built border wall prototypes for President Trump have controversial histories, including a whistleblower lawsuit, writes the Project on Government Oversight.

DEMOCRACY

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips both filed lawsuit against the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census (The Hill).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

United States officials have spoken to Kim Jong Un directly to set up a summit and President Trump says the meeting could be in June or earlier (WSJ).

• CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend (WaPo). 

The White House released a letter to serve as a notice of military action in Syria (Lawfare).

• Read the full letter here 

President Trump’s struggles with policy in Syria are reminiscent of President Obama’s, writes former National Security Advisor Susan Rice for the New York Times.  

President Trump’s nominees Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel both have met resistance during Senate confirmation hearings (WSJ).

Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Fox News “I don’t get confused,” in response to questions about whether she was confused when she announced the Trump administration would impose new sanctions on Russia, a policy the administration has since reversed (NYT).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A lobbying group of Colorado developers paid for a hotel stay for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, shortly after the agency began the process of repealing regulations disfavored by the industry (Politico).

REGULATION

The Drug Enforcement Administration will adopt regulations that account for abuse potential when setting drug production quotas (WSJ).

In a move backed by Congressional Democrats, the Department of the Interior decided not to reduce royalty rates on offshore drilling, overriding the recommendations of an advisory panel (The Hill).

The Senate will vote on a proposal to repeal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance on discriminatory auto lending (The Hill, WSJ).

• The use of the Congressional Review Act to target guidance documents may vastly expand the scope of CRA power (Politico).

Randal Quarles, President Trump’s appointee as the first vice chairman of supervision for the Federal Reserve, faced criticism over the administration’s approach to financial regulation during a Congressional oversight hearing (The Hill).

Mignon Clyburn, one of President Obama’s appointees to the Federal Communications Commission, resigned. Under traditional practice, President Trump will fill her seat with a candidate recommended by Senate Democrats (Ars Technica).

RULE OF LAW

The 9th Circuit will appoint a special prosecutor to defend the criminal contempt conviction of Joe Arpaio after he was pardoned by President Trump (The Arizona Republic, Buzzfeed).

• The opinion is available here.

On this tax day, it is more important than ever that we see President Trump’s tax returns, argues Paul Waldman for the Washington Post.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt may have significant tax obligations arising from his use of a private security detail for personal purposes, argue Daniel Hemel and David Herzig in the Washington Post.

• Hemel and Herzig misstate the relevant law, but Pruitt’s security detail nonetheless creates tax implications, suggests Andy Grewal at Notice and Comment. 

A former advisor to Ajit Pai, President Trump’s appointee as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was arrested for wire fraud (Ars Technica).

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