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Karen Kadish, Caroline Cox  //  8/1/18  //  Daily Update

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Paul Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud began on Tuesday. President Trump’s defense that “collusion is not a crime” obscures that federal conspiracy statutes and other criminal charges may be possible after Mueller’s investigation. Migrant children reunified with their parents are experiencing mental health issues related to their forced separation. U.S. intelligence agencies are concluding that North Korea has resumed construction of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States. A federal court temporarily blocked the implementation of a State Department settlement that would allow individuals to publish 3-D printing schematics for homemade guns online. The Department of Homeland Security is forming a cyber hub with the goal of protecting American infrastructure from cyberattacks. Facebook announced that an influence campaign, similar to those used by Russian hackers in the 2016 election, has been discovered on its platform.

 

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

Paul Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud began on Tuesday and included jury selection and opening statements from both the defense and prosecution (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, LA Times).

• Politico reports that special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors focused opening arguments on Manafort’s “extravagant lifestyle” afforded by his work for Ukraine.
• The Washington Post provides an overview of key facts about the trial.
• Just Security offers a brief primer on Manafort’s trial.
• Lawfare takes a look at what the trial means for President Trump.

Paul Manafort dropped his civil suit against special counsel Robert Mueller that claimed Mueller’s investigation was overly broad (The Hill; Politico).

A U.S. district court denied Michael Cohen’s request for a gag order against Stormy Daniels’s lawyer, but Daniels’s suit against President Trump will remain on hold (The Hill).  

President Trump’s defense that “collusion is not a crime” obscures that federal conspiracy statutes and other criminal charges may be possible after Mueller’s investigation, argues Randall D. Eliason at The Washington Post.

 

IMMIGRATION

In hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, administration officials claimed that family detention centers are “very comfortable” and admitted that the former zero-tolerance policy was flawed (NYT, Politico).

Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) called for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on migrant family separations (Politico).

Senator Mitch McConnell voiced support for President Trump’s insistence on funding a border wall even with the risk of a government shutdown (Politico).

• The Washington Post reports that President Trump has renewed his threats of government shutdown. 

The United States continues to turn away asylum seekers at the border with Mexico, write Astrid Dominguez and Mike Seifert at the ACLU blog.  

Migrant children reunified with their parents are experiencing mental health issues related to their forced separation, reports Miriam Jordan at The New York Times.

A lawsuit brought by separated migrant families seeks to require the United States to provide more time for those families to seek asylum (WaPo).

An analysis on crime rates among undocumented immigrants refutes President Trump’s continued claims that criminals are being sent across the border, explains Alex Nowrasteh at Cato at Liberty.

  

CIVIL RIGHTS

Numerous LGBTQ organizations formally announced their opposition to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh based on concerns about his judicial record on civil rights issues (Lambda Legal).

A new bill in the Senate proposes to create an Office of Disability Policy that would assess the impacts of legislative and regulatory plans on Americans with disabilities (Disability Scoop). 

 

DEMOCRACY

A groundbreaking climate change trial is set to begin in October despite the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to stop the lawsuit (Legal Planet).

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

U.S. intelligence agencies are concluding that North Korea has resumed construction of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States (WaPo).

A federal court temporarily blocked the implementation of a State Department settlement that would allow individuals to publish 3-D printing schematics for homemade guns online (WaPo).

The Department of Homeland Security is forming a cyber hub with the goal of protecting American infrastructure from cyberattacks (WSJ).

In the escalating trade war with China, the United States is failing to take advantage of policy changes as deftly as China is, explain Shannon Togawa Mercer and Robert D. Williams at Lawfare.

  

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

After the lawsuit suing President Trump for violating the Emoluments Clause was allowed to go forward next week, the next question is how we define -- and limit -- the legal meaning of the word “emolument,” writes Matthew Stephenson at The Global Anticorruption Blog.

  

REGULATION

The Treasury Department released a report advocating for less regulation and more flexibility for financial technology companies, reports Sylvan Lane at The Hill. 

Critiquing the EPA’s proposed “transparency rule” for scientific evidence, scholars suggest a transparency rule that would more closely mirror scientific principles (Regulatory Review).

The Department of Education’s perspective on its role -- and on the proper approach to overseeing civil rights abuses -- has lead the Department to consistently narrow and decrease Federal responses to systemic civil rights abuses, writes Laura Meckler at The Washington Post.

The Department of Justice and the Department of Labor announced an agreement to work on “cracking down” on companies favor hiring foreign workers over American workers.

• Read the statement here.

 

RULE OF LAW 

The TSA is surveilling airline passengers in a secretive, unchecked “Quiet Skies” program, writes Hugh Handeyside at the ACLU.

  

CHECKS AND BALANCES

The rhetoric surrounding Brett Kavanaugh before and after his nomination for Supreme Court Justice raises important questions about what qualities we are looking for -- and what qualities we say we are looking for -- in a Justice (Take Care Blog).

A Department of Justice letter concluding that there are “no responsive records” to support statements from President Trump before Congress implies that the President lied, argues Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare. 

President Trump has already had 24 Circuit Court judges confirmed, cementing a conservative legacy, reports Thomas Kaplan at The New York Times.

 

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Facebook announced that an influence campaign, similar to those used by Russian hackers in the 2016 election, has been discovered on its platform (NYT; The Hill; WaPo).

• Senator Mark Warner suggests that this is further evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. (The Hill) 

Vice President Mike Pence blamed Russia for interfering in the 2016 election, and promised that the Trump administration would take action against cyberattacks (WSJ).

 

Tags:

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

 

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