Jacob Miller  //  12/17/18  //  Daily Update

A federal district judge in Texas struck down the Affordable Care Act after the Trump administration declined to defend the law. Nearly every organization that President Trump has led in the past decade is under criminal investigation. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke resigned after allegations of financial misconduct. Two years after its publication, many of the claims in the Steele dossier have been confirmed by other investigations. Kim Jong-un publicly warned that increased sanctions from the United States could end any chance of North Korean denuclearization. The Trump administration has aggressively sought to expedite high-profile cases to the Supreme Court in the hopes of securing victories from its conservative majority. A new report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee reveals that Russian government support for President Trump on social media was more widespread than previously known.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION

Revelations surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election and campaign finance violations by the Trump campaign have called the legitimacy of the Trump presidency into question, contends Marc Fisher in the Washington Post.

Nearly every organization that President Trump has led in the past decade is under criminal investigation, write David A. Fahrenthold, Matt Zapotosky and Seung Min Kim in the Washington Post. 

President Trump’s claim that he did not violate campaign finance law by ordering payments to women with whom he allegedly had affairs in the lead-up to the election is both weak and dangerous, argue Neal Katyal, George Conway, and Trevor Potter in the Washington Post.

• Other experts in campaign finance law agree that the Trump campaign’s alleged conduct constitutes a very serious violation of campaign finance law that regularly results in criminal prosecution, reports Fredreka Schouten at CNN.

In a court filing, the Special Counsel disputed suggestions that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was misled by FBI agents (WaPo).

Rudy Giuliani dismissed speculation that President Trump might sit for an interview with the Special Counsel (WaPo).

The DC Circuit held oral arguments in a sealed challenge to a grand jury subpoena case that many suspect is tied to the Special Counsel investigation (BuzzFeed News).

Two years after its publication, many of the claims in the Steele dossier have been confirmed by other investigations, write Chuck Rosenberg and Sarah Grant at Lawfare.

IMMIGRATION

The father of Jakelin Caal Maquin, the 7-year-old girl who died in United States border custody, publicly disputed the claim that his daughter had not been fed or given water prior to her detention (NYT, WaPo).

The continued gridlock around whether or not a border wall along the southern border will be funded shows no signs of breaking as a shutdown increases in possibility (WSJ).

President Trump claimed he would “do whatever is necessary” to ensure that a border wall is built (Politico).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

President Trump stated he would look into the case of a Special Forces soldier recently charged by the United States Army with murder of a suspected bomb maker in 2010 who had been released by the Army and the soldier allegedly tracked down and killed himself (NYT, Politico).

Kim Jong-un publicly warned that increased sanctions from the United States could end any chance of North Korean denuclearization (NYT).

The Senate’s passing a bill directing U.S. forces to withdraw from “hostilities” in Yemen that are not related to Al-Qaeda shows Congress’ distrust of the Trump administration even if it does not end up becoming law, writes Scott Anderson for Lawfare.

REGULATION

A federal district judge in Texas struck down the Affordable Care Act after the Trump administration declined to defend the law (Bloomberg, NYT, Politico, WaPo, WSJ)

• The opinion is available here.
• Either the Fifth Circuit or the Supreme Court is likely to reverse due to weaknesses in the district court’s reasoning on substance, standing, and severability, writes Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy.
• Since the judge entered a declaratory judgment instead of issuing an injunction, the practical effect of the ruling may be limited, argues Marty Lederman at Balkinization.
• The ruling is “raw judicial activism [that is] impossible to defend,” suggests Nicholas Bagley in the Washington Post.
• The ruling is “lawless” and “not based on a solid legal argument,” contend Abbe Gluck and Jonathan Adler in the New York Times.
• Other legal experts widely criticized the judge’s ruling (NYTimes, WaPo, WSJ).
• The judge in the case, Reed O’Connor, has long been a conservative movement favorite, reports Manny Fernandez in the New York Times.
• While the district judge’s arguments are seen as “off the wall” now, they may move to “on the wall”--and stand a chance of succeeding--if conservative movement leaders get behind the challenge, cautions Jack Balkin at Balkinization.
• The judge’s conclusion that the ACA’s individual mandate is now unconstitutional was correct, but his severability analysis was wrong, argues Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy.

Trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are continuing, but tensions between the two countries may derail them, report Rachel Brown and Preston Lim at Lawfare.

RULE OF LAW

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke resigned after allegations of financial misconduct (NYTimes, Politico).

While President Trump has put pressure on the Department of Justice, the Department’s independence has remained resilient, argues Jack Goldsmith in the Weekly Standard.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Trump administration has aggressively sought to expedite high-profile cases to the Supreme Court in the hopes of securing victories from its conservative majority, writes Greg Stohr in Bloomberg News.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

A new report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee reveals that Russian government support for President Trump on social media was more widespread than previously known, report Craig Timberg and Tony Romm in the Washington Post.

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