Daily Update | August 6, 2019
Hetali Lodaya // 8/6/19 //
DOJ lawyers were questioned during a FOIA hearing as to why at least some of the Mueller Report should not be released to the public. Government whistleblowers are increasingly being monitored and then charged under the Espionage Act, even if they are not spies. Mass shootings occurred in both El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH over the weekend; the El Paso shooter posted an anti-immigrant message online prior to the shooting.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
DOJ lawyers were questioned during a FOIA hearing as to why at least some of the Mueller Report should not be released to the public. (The Hill)
IMMIGRATION
The Supreme Court’s order allowing the Trump Administration to use allocated military funding for border wall construction is a sign of how far they will go to give the government what it asks for, writes Cristian Farias at The New Yorker.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Government whistleblowers are increasingly being monitored and then charged under the Espionage Act, even if they are not spies, writes Micah Lee at The Intercept.
DEMOCRACY
Republicans have filed a lawsuit arguing that gerrymandering is protected by the First Amendment. (Slate)
Conservative group Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit to block a California law that would require the release of the President’s tax returns for him to appear on the 2020 ballot. (Reuters)
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Mass shootings occurred in both El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH over the weekend; the El Paso shooter posted an anti-immigrant message online prior to the shooting. (NYT, Politico)
The language used by the El Paso shooter echoes the President’s, write Peter Baker and Michael Shear at NYT.
Democrats are urging Senate Leader Mitch McConnel to end the August recess so that the Senate can vote on a gun reform measure that has passed the House. (NBC)
CHECKS & BALANCES
After indicators of Congressional support seemed lukewarm, John Ratcliffe has been withdrawn as the President’s candidate for Director of National Intelligence. (Politico)
RULE OF LAW
The President’s use of Twitter and a recent Second Circuit ruling mean that we have to start thinking about the public utility dimensions of social media, writes K. Sabeel Rahman at Take Care.