Nicandro Iannacci  //  12/4/19  //  Daily Update

IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY 

The House Intelligence Committee released its impeachment inquiry report, accusing President Trump of soliciting foreign interference in the 2016 election (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, POLITICO). 

• The report is here.
• The report details close contact about Ukraine between the White House and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).
• Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) says the President’s actions meet the constitutional definition of bribery (WaPo).
• So does Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) (WaPo).
• It’s certainly plausible that the president committed bribery, write Samuel Estreicher and Christopher Owens at Verdict.
• The president has repeatedly solited foreign interference, and there’s no reason to think he’ll stop, writes Kate Brannen at Just Security.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold its first impeachment hearing on Wednesday, featuring four legal scholars on impeachment (POLITICO).

For his defense, President Trump is relying chiefly on White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and in-house lawyers, not his personal lawyers (WaPo).

As a defense of the president, Senate Republicans are increasingly embracing the unsupported theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election (NYT). 

House Democrats are considering the inclusion of issues beyond Ukraine in eventual articles of impeachment (WaPo). 

• Democrats may need to persuade the public of the merits of the nation’s first non-criminal “abuse of power” impeachment, writes Stephen Griffin at Balkinization.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION 

The Second Circuit ordered Deutsche Bank and Capital One to comply with congressional subpoenas for President Trump’s financial records, giving him one week to seek review from the Supreme Court (WaPo, WSJ, POLITICO, The Hill). 

• The ruling is here.

Newly obtained documents reveal details about key events investigated by the Mueller probe (NYT).

IMMIGRATION 

The consulting firm McKinsey & Company has advised ICE on carrying out its draconian immigration policies (NYT, ProPublica).

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

DHS is proposing a new regulation to require all travelers visiting or entering the U.S. to be photographed (The Hill).

The president’s designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations could have unintended negative consequences on a range of issues, writesIoan Grillo at The New York Times.

The president’s handling of the Gallagher case, among others, suggests that presidents should be legally restrained from using the pardon power on behalf of service members convicted of war crimes, writes Lt. Col. Dan Maurer at Lawfare.

REGULATION 

President Trump said he may wait until after the 2020 election to reach a trade agreement with China (WaPo, WSJ).

DOE Secretary Betsy DeVos suggested that the Federal Student Aid office should be a standalone agency (WaPo).

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the president’s nominee to lead the FDA, was approved by the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee (NYT).

The HHS patent lawsuit against Gilead, the maker of PreP, could set novel precedent in drug patent litigation and expand access to the drug, writes Phebe Hong at Bill of Health.