Kate Berry  //  2/19/18  //  Daily Update

Via tweet, President Trump blamed the FBI’s preoccupation on the Russian interference investigation for its failure to prevent last week’s school shooting in Florida. The October deaths of four American soldiers in Niger raise questions about the amorphous and expansive post-9/11 “war on terror.” Former Trump campaign advisor Richard Gates will testify against Paul Manafort, as part of a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied that vacancies in the State Department evidence a dismantling of the agency.

IMMIGRATION

The media and government focus on Dreamers may breed resentment for other undocumented immigrants in the United States (LA Times).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Via tweet, President Trump blamed the FBI’s preoccupation on the Russian interference investigation for its failure to prevent last week’s school shooting in Florida (LA Times, The Hill).

• The White House announced that President Trump will meet with survivors on Wednesday (The Hill).
• Survivors of the shooting announced plans to organize nationwide marches next month in support of gun control (WaPo, The Hill, Politico).
• Memorial services have been accompanied by calls to action (NYT).
• House Speaker Paul Ryan met with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday to discuss the Republican Party’s agenda, including gun control (The Hill).
• While at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump reportedly surveyed members of the club on their opinions of gun control (WaPo, The Hill).
• Some Republican lawmakers are reportedly considering support for gun control measures (WSJ).

DEMOCRACY 

A tweet from President Trump could affect the outcome of California’s 2018 elections, suggests John Myers at The Los Angeles Times.

JUSTICE & SAFETY           

The use of lethal drones by the U.S. grew out of a historic “desire to pre-emptively neutralize foreign terrorist threats,” rather than an “overly militarized response to” September 11, writes Christopher Fuller at Lawfare.

The October deaths of four American soldiers in Niger raise questions about the amorphous and expansive post-9/11 “war on terror” (NYT).

American hesitations about NATO commitments raise concerns for European states (NYT).

Asked about a strike on U.S.-backed forces in Syria, Defense Secretary James Mattis denied having any information (The Hill).

REGULATION

Following criticism over his travel expenses, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt cancelled his scheduled trip to Israel (NYT).

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied that vacancies in the State Department evidence a dismantling of the agency (The Hill).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE           

Following Friday’s indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of 13 Russians associated with a “troll factory” allegedly used to interfere with the U.S. election, a former employee of the “troll factory” compared the experience to George Orwell’s 1984.(WaPo).            

• Excerpts from the interview with the employee here.                                    

In a series of Sunday morning tweets, President Trump blamed President Obama and Democrats for doing too little to prevent or stop Russian interference in U.S. elections (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

• President Trump also claimed he never denied Russia may have interfered with the election (The Hill).
• President Trump’s refusal to condemn Russia for election interference may leave the United States vulnerable (NYT, WaPo).
• Senator Bernie Sanders referred to President Trump’s actions as a “horror show” (The Hill).

Former Trump campaign advisor Richard Gates will testify against Paul Manafort, as part of a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller (LA Times, The Hill).

Senator Bob Casey warned Robert Mueller against releasing a report of his investigation near the 2018 midterm elections (The Hill).                       

Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended his recusal from participating in the Mueller investigation (The Hill).

And that's our update today! Thanks for reading. We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary.  

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