Nicandro Iannacci  //  12/10/18  //  Daily Update

In a series of court filings on Friday, federal prosecutors recommended a four-year prison sentence for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Former FBI Director James Comey testified privately before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is expected to leave the administration by the end of the year. Lawyer and former Attorney General William Barr was nominated to be Attorney General. A federal appeals court refused to stay a lower court’s ruling blocking the Trump administration’s ban on asylum for migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. According to new data from the State Department, the administration’s policies have significantly reduced the admissions of Muslims and residents of Muslim-majority countries. The Trump administration wants to open negotiations on a peace deal in Afghanistan by April.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

In a series of court filings on Friday, federal prosecutors recommended a four-year prison sentence for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller (NYT, WaPo).

• The Cohen sentencing memo by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is here.
• The Cohen sentencing memo by the special counsel is here.
• The Manafort agreement breach memo by the special counsel is here.
• In the run-up to the 2016 election, Cohen paid off two women who claimed to have had affairs with President Trump, apparently at the direction of the president himself (WSJ, LAT).
• Cohen was also approached by a Russian who offered “government level” synergy between Russia and the Trump campaign. (WaPo, Politico)
• Manafort allegedly lied about contacts with Russian intelligence and recent contacts with the Trump administration (NYT, WSJ, Politico).
• Just Security and Lawfare highlighted the major takeaways from the filings.
• Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said it would be a “terrible mistake” for President Trump to pardon Manafort (Politico).
• The filings suggest Special Counsel Mueller is building a case for obstruction of justice, writes Bob Bauer in The New York Times.
• The filings also suggest evidence of collusion and campaign finance violations, write Barry Berke, Noah Bookbinder, and Norm Eisen in The New York Times.

Federal prosecutors are investigating what role, if any, members of the Trump Organization may have had in facilitating payments to women who claimed to have had an affair with President Trump (NYT).

President Trump promised a “major Counter Report” to rebut the findings of the Mueller probe (WaPo, WSJ, Politico).

Former FBI Director James Comey testified privately before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, Politico, The Hill).

• The transcript of his testimony is here.

The history of “partisan electoral interventions” suggests that it will be very difficult to prove collusion occurred between Russia and the Trump campaign, writes Dov Levin at Lawfare.

IMMIGRATION

A federal appeals court refused to stay a lower court’s ruling blocking the Trump administration’s ban on asylum for migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally (LAT, The Hill, AP).

• The opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is here.

Arrests and denials of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration reached a new high in November (WaPo).

According to new data from the State Department, the administration’s policies have significantly reduced the admissions of Muslims and residents of Muslim-majority countries, writes David Bier for Cato at Liberty.

The administration’s proposed redefinition of “public charge” is likely to deter immigrants from using health care services, writes Alexandra Slessarev at Bill of Health.

• This deterrence will have an especially harmful impact on immigrant children, write Sarah Horton, Whitney Duncan, and Kristin Yarris at The Hill.

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

President Trump announced a series of high-level appointments.

• Lawyer and former Attorney General William Barr was nominated to be Attorney General (NYT, WaPo, LAT, Politico).
• Barr is likely to be as bad, if not worse, than AG Jeff Sessions on civil rights, executive power, and other issues, writes David Cole for the ACLU.
• Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he was “disturbed” by Barr’s views on privacy and civil asset forfeiture (Politico).
• State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was nominated to be Ambassador to the United Nations (NYT, WaPo, LAT, Politico).
• Army General Mark Milley was nominated to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (WaPo, WSJ, Politico, AP).

The DOJ’s ethics office received requests for advice and issued guidance on Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker’s involvement in the Russia investigation (WaPo)

Meng Wanzhou, CFO of the Chinese technology company Huawei, allegedly tricked U.S. financial institutions into violating sanctions against Iran (NYT).

• China threatened “severe consequences” if Wanzhou is not released from Canadian custody, where she currently awaits extradition to the U.S. (WSJ).
• U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the matter is “totally separate” from ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China (Politico).
• Wanzhou’s arrest reflects a forward-leaning U.S. law enforcement policy with greater tolerance for actions that increase tensions with China, write Robert Williams and Preston Lim at Lawfare.

The Trump administration wants to open negotiations on a peace deal in Afghanistan by April (LAT). 

The administration owes Congress an explanation of its counterterrorism operations in Yemen, writes Luke Hartig at Just Security.

REGULATION

The Department of Agriculture announced a final rule lowering nutrition standards for certain foods in school cafeterias (NYT, WaPo). 

• The final rule is here.

The EPA is expected to propose changing the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” to reduce the coverage of federal protections (The Hill).

The FCC will temporarily suspend the rollout of a wireless internet investment plan while it investigates whether major service providers submitted false data about their coverage areas (The Hill).

RULE OF LAW

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is expected to leave the administration by the end of the year (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, LAT, Politico). 

• But contrary to early reports, he will not be replaced by Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, Politico).

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrod Nadley (D-N.Y.) said that President Trump’s alleged direction of illegal payments to two women during the 2016 election would be “impeachable offenses” but stopped short of calling for impeachment (LAT, Politico).

• Incoming House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) suggested that the allegation could result in jail time for the president after he leaves office (Politico).

Tags: