Daily Update | April 20, 2017
Derek Reinbold , // 4/20/17 //
Constitutional law scholars filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit travel ban appeal. The first DACA-enrolled immigrant known to be deported under President Trump sued for details of his deportation. The White House denied misleading the public about sending an aircraft carrier toward North Korea. And Exxon Mobil has reapplied for a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia.
IMMIGRATION
Constitutional law scholars, represented by Joshua Matz of Take Care, filed a brief in the Fourth Circuit travel ban appeal, arguing that the ban violates the Establishment Clause prohibition against governmental action based on animus toward particular religions.
- The brief can be found here.
Caroline Corbin breaks down the issue of mixed motives in the Establishment Clause context with regard to the travel ban (Just Security).
The first DACA-enrolled immigrant known to be deported under President Trump sued for details of his deportation (ABAJournal) (LA Times).
Stephanie Leutert at Lawfare documents the shifting goals the Trump Administration has for its proposed border wall, and discusses the political, legal, and budgetary fights ahead.
Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Tani Cantil-Sakauye argues that courts are not the place for immigration enforcement, in an op-ed for the Washington Post.
The Trump family’s businesses have “made use of virtually every part of the US immigration system,” according to a new report by CNN.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Administration may already have the necessary technology to establish a so-called “Muslim Registry,” Ryan Hayward argues for Take Care.
The Trump Administration is doing violence to sensible gun policy, argue Leah Litman and Helen Klein Murillo in Part Four of the Information Wars Series on Take Care.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Jonathan Taylor writes for Take Care that there is unquestionably standing in CREW’s Emoluments Clause suit after the addition of two new plaintiffs.
- Michael Dorf, also writing for Take Care, agrees.
- Steven Schwinn at Constitutional Law Prof Blog says the addition of the plaintiffs almost surely satisfies Article III requirements.
- Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy still thinks the suit has standing problems.
Exxon Mobil has reapplied for a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia, having initially applied in 2015 when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was CEO (WSJ).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Secretary Tillerson compared Iran to North Korea in public remarks and offered strong criticism of the Iran nuclear deal (WaPo).
The White House denied misleading the public about sending an aircraft carrier toward North Korea (WaPo).
- Doyle McManus argues that the Trump Administration has executed a “diplomatic pivot” on North Korea that could lead to negotiations (LA Times).
Rachel Kleinfeld at Just Security describes a speech by Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly at George Washington University as “stunning for its indifference to facts, accountability, and democratic oversight.”
Jennifer Rubin argues in the Washington Post that President Trump is “ignorant and deluded about crime.”
President Trump’s approach to national security is described as “security theater” by Steve Chapman at the Chicago Tribune.
One month after the Trump Administration requested that all remaining U.S. attorneys immediately resign, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not filled any of the positions (ABAJournal).
The strike on Syria was a violation of the UN Charter, but “no one seems to care,” writes Julian Ku at Vox.
A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee convened a hearing on the use of the term “radical Islam” in government documents (Brennan Center).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Trump adviser Carter Page reportedly first drew F.B.I. interest after delivering a Russia-friendly speech in Moscow last July (NYT).
Ryan Lizza reports on the fallout from the Trump Administration and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’s efforts to “manufacture a fake” wiretapping scandal (New Yorker).
Mary McCord, who has helped oversee the Justice Department’s probe into Russian interference in the presidential election, is leaving the federal government (The Intercept).
DEMOCRACY
The Trump inaugural committee filed a 510-page disclosure report with the Federal Election Commission showing dozens of donations over $1 million dollars to President Trump’s inauguration, including $5 million from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (NYT).
REGULATION
The Environmental Protection Agency took the first step in undoing an Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions at oil and gas drilling sites (The Hill).
- The Trump Administration is also considering whether to change two major Obama Administration air pollution regulations, including the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule at issue in Michigan v. EPA (The Hill).
A top House Republican and a Washington lobbying group are working to pass a financial regulation bill that could end most corporate climate resolutions (ClimateWire).
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai has taken the next steps to roll back Obama-era rules regulating the telecommunications industry (NYT).
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