Daily Update | August 15, 2018
Caroline Cox // 8/15/18 //
The Trump campaign has filed a suit to compel arbitration with Omarosa Manigault Newman based on a 2016 confidentiality agreement. Over 100 legal scholars signed an open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that explained how case quotas for immigration judges threatens due process. An eleven-year-old student successfully hacked into and changed the voting results on a model of the Florida’s election website, revealing concerns with election security. The Boston Globe is spearheading a coordinated series of editorials across national newspapers that will decry the Trump Administration’s continued criticisms of the press.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country will boycott U.S.-produced electronics as retaliation for the American role in the declining Turkish currency.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION
In Paul Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud, the defense declined to call any witnesses before resting and allowing the case to proceed to closing arguments (NYT, WSJ).
Paul Waldman at The Washington Post predicts that President Trump will pardon his former campaign chairman.
- Philip Bump explains why the decision not to call witnesses is a strategic decision.
Rick Gates’s cooperation in the trial of Paul Manafort suggests that he might be cooperating with the special counsel investigation beyond the case against Manafort, writes Barbara McQuade at Lawfare.
The Trump campaign has filed a suit to compel arbitration with Omarosa Manigault Newman based on a 2016 confidentiality agreement (NYT, WaPo).
- Bradley P. Moss argues at Lawfare that the White House cannot prevent Omarosa Manigault Newman from continuing to discuss her experiences as an aide to President Trump.
- Politico reports that Manigault Newman claims to have been interviewed by Robert Mueller and explains that Trump Administration staffers are anxious about her continued statements to the press.
- The New York Times discusses the racial overtones of President Trump’s latest insults against Manigault Newman.
- The Hill explores Manigault Newman’s new claims that President Trump was aware of hacked Democratic emails before the Wikileaks release.
IMMIGRATION
Over 100 legal scholars signed an open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that explained how case quotas for immigration judges threatens due process (Law 360).
CIVIL RIGHTS
School voucher supporters are hopeful that the possible confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court could result in greater funding for religious schools (NYT).
The Boston Globe is spearheading a coordinated series of editorials across national newspapers that will decry the Trump Administration’s continued criticisms of the press (NYT).
- Jack Shafer at Politico criticizes the decision as “sure to backfire.”
DEMOCRACY
The Commerce Department’s decision to include a question about citizenship in the 2020 census may be the result of an interest on reducing the impact of undocumented aliens on the Electoral College, argues Bernard Bell at Notice & Comment.
An eleven-year-old student successfully hacked into and changed the voting results on a model of the Florida’s election website, revealing concerns with election security (The HIll).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country will boycott U.S.–produced electronics as retaliation for the American role in the declining Turkish currency (WaPo, WSJ).
The Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs and other trade threats against the Chinese is creating challenges for the Chinese political establishment (NYT).
Democrats are seeking an explanation from the FCC for the agency’s false claims that it was the target of a cyberattack after the repeal of net neutrality (The Hill).
REGULATION
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to abandon supervisory examinations of creditors under the Military Lending Act is justified based on the CFPB’s limited statutory authority, writes Anthony C. Kaye at Consumer Finance Monitor.
A possible winning strategy for getting President Trump to approve climate-change legislation is to link it to defense spending, explains Dino Grandoni at The Washington Post.
The FCC, reversing its prior stance, is asserting that the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia erred in its approval of the merger between AT&T and Time Warner (Ars Technica).
The FDA approved the marketing of an app claiming to provide “digital contraception” based on natural ovulation cycles despite criticism of the product in other countries (The Hill).
RULE OF LAW
President Trump’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA) amount to a violation of the Take Care Clause, argue Nicholas Bagley and Abbe R. Gluck at The New York Times.
- Abbe Gluck writes at Balkanization about the lawsuit against President Trump’s sabotage of the ACA.
CHECKS AND BALANCES
President Trump has asserted in a signing statement that he has the power to bypass congressionally set limits in the Defense Bill (NYT).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician, may have a larger role in attempts to influence American politics based on his coordination of a U.S.-Russia exchange program, writes Josh Meyer at Politico.
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Justice & Safety Russian Interference