Daily Update | August 13, 2018
Karen Kadish // 8/13/18 //
Testimony in Paul Manafort’s trial asserted that the CEO of Federal Savings Bank, which lent Manafort $16 million, wanted Manafort to get him a Cabinet-level position. A federal judge threatened to hold DOJ officials -- even Jeff Sessions -- when a mother and child were deported in the middle of their suit against the DOJ. GEO Group, a private prison that contracts to provide immigration detention centers, has threatened to sue protesters for defamation and tortious interference. The torture of a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist, including waterboarding, is described in detail in cables that CIA Director Gina Haspel sent to agency headquarters in late 2002. Hacking competitions show that manipulating the U.S. elections systems is easy -- even within the capability of budding adolescent hackers. Financial trails suggest that Peter Smith, a Republican operative, may have paid Russian hackers in his quest to obtain Hillary Clinton’s missing e-mails.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Rudolph Giuliani claimed on Sunday that President Trump never had a conversation with James Comey about ending the investigation into national security adviser Michael Flynn, reports Maggie Haberman at The New York Times.
Barbara Jones, the Special Master assigned to review the evidence in the case against Michael Cohen, has finished reviewing the materials seized from Cohen’s office by FBI officials earlier this year, writes Jacqueline Thomsen at The Hill.
A judge held the aide of Roger Stone, a long-time confidante of President Trump, in contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury on the Russian investigation. (WaPo)
Testimony in Paul Manafort’s trial asserted that the CEO of Federal Savings Bank, which lent Manafort $16 million, wanted Manafort to get him a Cabinet-level position. (WaPo; NYT; WSJ)
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, may have been offered “hush money” in the form of a supposed job and accompanying non-disclosure agreement, reports Aaron Blake at The Washington Post.
- This information has come to light in the midst of Ms. Newman publishing a memoir on her time in the White House and revealing that she recorded her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (NYT; WaPo; CNN)
IMMIGRATION
DHS is spinning the numbers of immigrants attempting to gain entry into the United States without status to support its policy decisions and mislead the public, writes Andrew Boyle at Just Security.
A federal judge threatened to hold DOJ officials -- even Jeff Sessions -- when a mother and child were deported in the middle of their suit against the DOJ for removing fear of gang violence and domestic violence from the bases for asylum relief, reports Vivian Yee at The New York Times.
- While lower courts are often willing to hold officials in contempt, higher courts do not often uphold any sanctions against officials, writes Chris Walker at Notice and Comment (summarizing an article by Nick Parillo)
GEO Group, a private prison that contracts to provide immigration detention centers, has threatened to sue protesters for defamation and tortious interference, reports Jacob J. Hutt at the ACLU.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The torture of a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist, including waterboarding, is described in detail in cables that CIA Director Gina Haspel sent to agency headquarters in late 2002, reports Karen DeYoung at The Washington Post.
Sentencing reform advocates are hopeful that the FIRST STEP Act could pass in the Senate soon, following promising statements by President Trump and Jared Kushner, writes John Neff at Sentencing Law and Policy.
DEMOCRACY
A group including two Republican-dominated states and two Democrat-dominated states has filed a lawsuit to challenge the electoral college system. (Roll Call)
Hacking competitions show that manipulating the U.S. elections systems is easy -- even within the capability of budding adolescent hackers, reports David Lee at BBC.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Robert Farley at Lawfare discusses the costs and benefits of the “Space Force” proposed by the Trump administration.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Three friends of President Trump known within the VA as “the Mar-a-Lago Crowd” has exerted considerable influence on the agency and may continue to apply pressure on the new VA Secretary, Robert Wilkie, reports Dave Phillips at The New York Times.
REGULATION
Following the EPA’s decision to halt auto-emissions standards, the Trump Administration should embrace federalism in environmental regulation and allow not only California, but all states, to institute their own emissions standards, writes Jonathan H. Adler at The Volokh Conspiracy.
The CFPB is planning to loosen regulations that protect military service members and their families from financial fraud and predatory loans, reports Glenn Thrush at The New York Times.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moved to end Obama-era rules that penalize for-profit colleges with a record of leaving graduates in debt and without job prospects, writes John Bowden at The Hill.
The Trump Administration says that it will continue to try to enact a work requirement for Medicaid, despite the fact that Kentucky’s version of just such a requirement was struck down by a court in June, writes Robert Pear at The New York Times.
The Trump Administration may be extending its protectionist trade policies beyond large countries like China and Europe and into poorer states, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and India, writes Lucy Craymer and Josh Zumbrun at The Wall Street Journal.
CHECKS & BALANCES
President Trump renewed his criticisms of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, apparently desiring Mr. Sessions to take a more active role in the investigation into Russian collusion and into the informants who the DOJ has relied on. (NYT)
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Financial trails suggest that Peter Smith, a Republican operative, may have paid Russian hackers in his quest to obtain Hillary Clinton’s missing e-mails. (Lawfare)
Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference