Caroline Cox  //  12/1/17  //  Daily Update

The new episode of Versus Trump features an interview with Lina Khan, Director of Legal Policy of the Open Markets Institute, on the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to top the AT&T/Time Warner merger. A jury acquitted an undocumented immigrant of murder in a case that President Trump often used as a rallying cry in support of his immigration agenda. Reports from the White House indicate that President Trump will soon replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with the C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo. FBI Director Christopher Wray assured the House Homeland Security Committee that the agency was working to prevent Russian interference in future elections.

PODCAST

The new episode of Versus Trump features an interview with Lina Khan, Director of Legal Policy of the Open Markets Institute, on the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to top the AT&T/Time Warner merger (Take Care).

IMMIGRATION

The federal government rejected almost a thousand applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because the applicants were stuck in the mail (NYT).

While the government continues to defend the latest iteration of the Travel Ban, President Trump’s recent tweets indicate the bias against Muslims underlying the law, argues Amrit Cheng at the ACLU.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents mistakenly detained a U.S. citizen for four days, and civil rights group allege that no information suggested he was an undocumented immigrant (LA Times).

A jury acquitted an undocumented immigrant of murder in a case that President Trump often used as a rallying cry in support of his immigration agenda (NYT).

CIVIL RIGHTS 

The Department of Justice has not justified its failure to inform a U.S. citizen detainee about his right to petition, argues Marty Lederman at Just Security.

• Stephen I. Vladeck explains why the suspect deserves a hearing at the New York Times.

Leaked emails from the Trump Administration show that the Office of Refugee Resettlement attempted to prevent migrant teens from securing abortions (Reproductive Rights Prof Blog).

DEMOCRACY

Reports from the White House indicate that President Trump will soon replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with the C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo (NYT).

• The Washington Post writes that Tillerson has ignored these reports.
• Politico writes that Defense Secretary James Mattis has similarly dismissed the story.
• Sentencing Law & Policy explores how sentencing reform could become easier if Senator Tom Cotton moves into the CIA directorship.
• Politico discusses Senator Cotton’s rise to prominence. 

President Trump has not lived up to his promises about smaller government, asserts M. Reed Hopper at The Hill.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

A bill under consideration in Congress could significantly expand the NSA’s surveillance power, writes Neema Singh Guliana at the ACLU.

After North Korea tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, President Trump criticized the regime and vowed to impose greater sanctions on the country (WaPo).

President Trump’s waiver of the Jerusalem Embassy Act is set to expire, and how President Trump acts may signal his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, write Scott R. Anderson & Yishai Schwartz at Lawfare.

The Justice Department’s recent indictments of three Chinese nationals for hacking signal the countries’ different view of commercial espionage, explain Jack Goldsmith & Robert D. Williams at Lawfare.

REGULATION

The cost/benefit analysis on net neutrality shows that the best approach is to “trust, but verify,” argues Tejas Narechania at Take Care.

President Trump made nominations for two significant economic policy positions, and the nominee to the Federal Reserve will help move the bank to the right.

The EPA  finalized a rule that will maintain the biofuels quota steady (The Hill).  

The Federal Reserve vice chairman of supervision urged central banks to “tread cautiously” with digital currencies (The Hill).

The Treasury Department has yet to release a promised report showing how the Republican tax plan will pay for itself despite a looming Senate vote on the bill (NYT).

RULE OF LAW

One of President Trump’s nominees to the federal bench failed to disclose 16,000 troubling online posts, writes Alex Swoyer at the Washington Times.

President Trump’s nominees to the federal judiciary are overwhelming white and male, turning the tide against a trend toward greater diversity (CNN).

Republican Senator John Kennedy is one of the few in his party who has shown a willingness to oppose the President’s judicial nominees (Buzzfeed).

CHECKS & BALANCES

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urged Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to reverse a prior DOJ position and expand its oversight of gambling (The Hill).

President Trump signaled to friends his belief that a government shutdown would help him politically (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Though President Trump continues to deny it, the tax bill would certainly benefit him personally (NYT).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

FBI Director Christopher Wray assured the House Homeland Security Committee that the agency was working to prevent Russian interference in future elections (The Hill).

Blackwater founder and Trump campaign supporter Erik Prince testified before the House Intelligence Committee, admitting that he met with a Kremlin-linked banker (WaPo).

• Just Security discusses how Prince’s previous comments suggest he tried to downplay the significance of Russian hacking.

Jared Kushner met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to discuss possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election (CNN; NYT).

President Trump petitioned Republican lawmakers to help end the Russian election investigation (NYT).

The House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed a man believed believed to be the link between WikiLeaks and Roger Stone, an adviser to President Trump (NYT).