Daily Update | February 15, 2018
Kate Berry // 2/15/18 //
President Trump threatened to veto any immigration bill that doesn’t meet the “four pillars” of his demands. Vice President Pence announced that the U.S. intelligence community universally concluded that Russia did not affect the outcome of the 2016 election, despite the fact that officials have made no such judgment. There is an increasing wave of efforts to punish or restrain judges who reject political districting. The United States may seek to put Pakistan on the Terrorism-Finance List.
IMMIGRATION
President Trump threatened to veto any immigration bill that doesn’t meet the “four pillars” of his demands (NYT, WaPo).
An ICE lawyer has been charged with stealing immigrants’ identities (NYT).
CIVIL RIGHTS
The VA refused to incorporate an employee’s unauthorized change to the VA mission statement, which had substituted “those” for “him” to make the statement gender neutral (WaPo).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
It’s ambiguous from Michael D. Cohen’s, President Trump’s lawyer, statement whether he actually paid Stormy Daniels “out of his own pocket,” writes Orin Kerr at Volokh Conspiracy.
- Campaign finance attorneys and scholars are divided on whether it broke the law.
- Alana Abramson writes that it could have broken the law, but is unlikely to lead to legal consequences.
- It’s worth noting that Cohen did not deny President Trump’s involvement, writes Aaron Blake at WaPo.
- The story is getting more interesting, writes Paul Waldman at WaPo.
A federal energy utility is under investigation by government auditors for allegedly spending $40 million in unauthorized purchases (The Hill).
The VA Inspector General has found that VA Secretary David J. Shulkin’s chief of staff misled ethics officials about the Secretary’s wife’s European trip (WaPo, WSJ).
The White House’s timeline on Rob Porter’s clearance is questionable, writes Philip Bump at WaPo.
- A third White House official has resigned after being told he wouldn’t qualify for full clearance (Politico).
- The House Oversight Committee kicked off an investigation into the White House’s employment of Porter (Politico, WSJ).
- Who is Rob Porter?
The White House Counsel has walked a fine line in serving President Trump’s demands, write Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman, and Matt Zapotosky at WaPo.
DEMOCRACY
House Democrats warned in a new report that state and local election systems remain vulnerable to outside interference ahead of the 2018 midterm elections (ABC News).
- A Democratic congressional task force unveiled new legislation designed to help protect voting infrastructure from foreign interference (The Hill, LA Times).
- A return to paper ballots can help make our elections hack-proof, write Michael Chertoff and Grover Norquist.
- The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by Eric Holder Jr., announced its plan to break up Republican monopoly of the national redistricting process (WaPo).
There is an increasing wave of efforts to punish or restrain judges who reject political districting, writes Michael Wines at NYT.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The United States agreed to further expand assistance to Jordan despite disagreements over the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (WaPo).
The United States should prosecute killers of U.S. journalists and aid workers in Syria, writes Beth Von Schaack at Just Security.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that passing drug sentencing reform would be a “grave error” and benefit a “highly dangerous cohort of criminals” (HuffPost).
The United States may seek to put Pakistan on the Terrorism-Finance List (NYT).
REGULATION
President Trump will nominate Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone to serve as the next NSA Director (The Hill).
The Treasury Department will issue guidance to prevent hedge fund managers from exploiting the new tax law (The Hill).
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law analyzes U.S. climate change litigation in the first year of the Trump administration (Climate Law Blog).
CHECKS & BALANCES
The Trump Administration’s recent announcement of judicial nominees is impressive, writes Jonathan H. Adler at Volokh Conspiracy.
- This could signal a course change, writes Patrick Gregory at Bloomberg Law.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
NBC published 200,000 tweets linked to Russian trolls (The Hill).
Vice President Pence announced that the U.S. intelligence community universally concluded that Russia did not affect the outcome of the 2016 election, despite the fact that officials have made no such judgment (The Hill).
President Trump should not talk to special counsel Robert Mueller, writes Randall D. Eliason at WaPo.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson addressed “unacceptable” delays in the fraud and money laundering case of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates (WaPo).
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Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference