Jeffrey Stein  //  4/27/18  //  Daily Update

Michael Cohen will invoke his Fifth Amendment right in a lawsuit filed against the president by Stephanie Clifford. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hawaii v. Trump, the challenge to President Trump’s third “Travel Ban.” The justices grappled with questions like whether the proclamation was too broad, whether the president had the authority to issue the proclamation, and whether President Trump’s anti-Muslim statements should impact interpretation of the order. The Department of Health and Human Services told members of Congress that it has lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with sponsors in the United States, raising concerns they could end up in the hands of human traffickers or be used as laborers by people posing as relatives.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

The ongoing federal criminal investigation into Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime lawyer, continued:

• Cohen will invoke his Fifth Amendment right in a lawsuit filed against the president by Stephanie Clifford (NYT).
• President Trump distanced himself from Cohen, saying that a federal criminal investigation was focused on Cohen’s business dealings and had nothing to do with his legal representation of the president (NYT).
• Barbara Jones, a lawyer who served as a federal judge in Manhattan, was selected to oversee the process of screening materials seized in a recent F.B.I. raid from President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen (NYT).

IMMIGRATION

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hawaii v. Trump, the challenge to President Trump’s third “Travel Ban.”

• The transcript is available here. The audio recording is available here.
• The justices grappled with questions like whether the proclamation was too broad, whether the president had the authority to issue the proclamation, and whether President Trump’s anti-Muslim statements should impact interpretation of the order (NYT).
• Liberal Supreme Court justices sought assurances that the Trump administration’s policy for granting medical or other exceptions to the ban amounted to more than window dressing (Reuters).
• Justice Elena Kagan has a strategy to persuade swing Justice Anthony Kennedy to vote against the ban, argues Noah Feldman in Bloomberg.
• The Supreme Court does not have to second-guess the president's national security decisions in order to rule that he lacks statutory authority to issue Travel Ban 3.0, writes Marty Lederman at Balkinization.
• Korematsu v. United States, the infamous Japanese internment case,  is formal precedent for the proposition that the obligation to strictly scrutinize invidiously discriminatory policies remains even when the government asserts a facially plausible national security justification, writes Michael Dorf at Dorf on Law.

The rollercoaster ride of DACA recipients is far from over, given Judge Bates’ recent ruling which signaled readiness to reopen applications for the program that protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to work (NYT).

After a year and a half of deep skepticism about President Trump’s immigration policies, some legal experts argue that the courts are effectively saying that Trump can earn more latitude if he goes about policy making the right way (NYT).

The Department of Health and Human Services told members of Congress that it has lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with sponsors in the United States, raising concerns they could end up in the hands of human traffickers or be used as laborers by people posing as relatives (NYT).

DEMOCRACY

President Donald Trump on Thursday voiced support for doing away with the Electoral College for presidential elections in favor of a popular vote because the latter would be “much easier to win” (POLITICO).

Even as the Supreme Court increasingly confronts cases challenging partisan gerrymandering it seems likely that gerrymandering will get worse, writes Richard Pildes for the Washington Post.

A federal appeals court handed a political victory to Florida Governor Rick Scott when it blocked a lower court ruling that struck down Florida's system for restoring voting rights to convicted felons (Tampa Bay Times).

President Trump's choice to serve in a top role at the Department of Homeland Security faced numerous questions about election security (The Hill).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Two congressional Democrats have sent a formal letter to top White House and law enforcement officials, seeking more information about the president’s use of an unsecured cell phone (ArsTechnica).

As President Trump threatens to reshape the Justice Department’s leadership and demolish its tradition of independence from politics, department alums are fighting back with increasing vigor (WaPo).

The U.S. military will not openly confront Iran, but will instead use indirect means to limit its expansion in Syria (WaPo).

Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill that aims to boost the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to protect federal computer networks from foreign attacks (The Hill).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The Senate Ethics Committee said that Senator Robert Menendez, who avoided conviction in a federal corruption trial last year, violated federal law and Senate rules in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally whom Menendez used his office to assist (WaPo).

CHECKS & BALANCES

The White House withdrew the nomination of Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, to lead the Veterans Affairs Department after lawmakers went public with a torrent of accusations leveled against him by nearly two dozen current and former colleagues (NYT).

Scott Pruitt testified before Congress on Thursday, fighting back against charges he’s abused his position as EPA administrator and telling lawmakers he has “nothing to hide” about the scandals that have put his job in jeopardy (POLITICO).

The Ninth Circuit could soon be getting a Republican makeover if President Trump and Senate GOP leaders are able to fill seven open seats on the court with conservative picks (Fox News).

Democratic senators unleashed a flurry of tough questions during a confirmation hearing for Andy Oldham, the top legal adviser to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is nominated for a seat on the Fifth Circuit (Austin American-Statesman).

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