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Jeffrey Stein  //  2/2/18  //  Daily Update

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The Trump Administration refused to sign a statement in support of an Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling on marriage equality and transgender rights. Redistricting court decisions are unlikely to have an impact on the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections, with the one big exception of Pennsylvania’s surprise state court ruling. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly zeroed in on a statement penned by President Trump and his advisors aboard Air Force One last July which sought to explain a meeting between Russians and top campaign officials during the previous summer. 

 

IMMIGRATION 

President Trump complained to Republican lawmakers at their annual retreat that Democrats are unwilling to progress on immigration or other issues that would benefit the country (NYT).

The Ninth Circuit decided unanimously that minor immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization are not entitled to government-paid lawyers in hearings that could lead to their deportation (LA Times).

Over 9,000 teachers who are currently protected by DACA are struggling to explain to their students the uncertainty of their future (NYT).

President Trump deliberately turned the status of DACA recipients into a crisis in an effort to place Democrats in a bind, writes Thomas B. Edsall for the New York Times.

Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan warned against giving Democrats an extension of the DACA program without putting additional border security measures in place (Washington Examiner).

 

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Trump Administration refused to sign a statement in support of an Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling on marriage equality and transgender rights (Human Rights Campaign).

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 

Brenda Fitzgerald, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has resigned following a report that she traded tobacco stock while leading the agency tasked with reducing use of tobacco (CBS News).

The Republican Attorneys General Association spent more than $75,000 at two different properties owned by President Trump in the second half of 2017, according to the group’s most recent filing with the IRS (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington).

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The third-highest-ranking official in the State Department announced his retirement Thursday, departing as the agency faces deep budget cuts and has been sidelined by the White House on some of the most significant foreign policy endeavors (WaPo, AP).

The Trump Administration claimed that Bashar al-Assad’s government has adapted its chemical weapons program since a 2013 disarmament deal and appears to be continuing to produce and employ banned chemical munitions (PBS, WaPo).

Defense Secretary James Mattis told House and Senate GOP lawmakers the Trump administration will request $716 billion for defense spending for the new fiscal year (The Hill).

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith is threatening to force the Department of Homeland Security to turn over documents on Kaspersky Lab, a producer of anti-virus software which may have ties to Russian intelligence (The Hill).

 

DEMOCRACY

Redistricting court decisions are unlikely to have an impact on the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections, with the one big exception of Pennsylvania’s surprise state court ruling  (Bloomberg Law).

 

REGULATION

Sen. Orrin Hatch pressed National Credit Union Administration Chairman Mark McWatters on his efforts to loosen restrictions on credit union activities (The Hill).

House Democrats are calling on the Department of Labor to withdraw it’s proposed tip-pooling rule after evidence that agency officials hid an unfavorable economic analysis has emerged (The Hill).

The Federal Communications Commission voted to create an Office of Economics and Analytics which will engage in cost-benefit analyses that will benefit the agency, writes Cass R. Sunstein for Bloomberg.

 

FEDERALISM

The California State Senate approved a bill to impose net neutrality restrictions on Internet service providers, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation has warned that the proposed law may be overturned by courts on preemption grounds (ArsTechnica).

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his intention to lead a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump Administration for delaying a major water pollution rule (The Hill).

 

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly zeroed in on a statement penned by President Trump and his advisors aboard Air Force One last July which sought to explain a meeting between Russians and top campaign officials during the previous summer (NYT).

• This revelation potentially adds significantly to the Mueller’s investigation, write Alex Whiting and Ryan Goodman for Just Security.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE  

A memo penned by Rep. Nunes alleging abuse of surveillance powers by the Justice Department continued to generate controversy:

• The White House agreed to some redactions, and the document is likely to be made public on Friday by House Republicans, according to senior Trump Administration officials (WaPo).
• Top White House aides are worried FBI Director Christopher Wray could quit if the highly controversial Republican memo is released (CNN).
• It is time for members of the intelligence community to publicly state their position on the propriety of releasing the memo, writes Gen. Michael Hayden for Lawfare.
• Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned against releasing the classified memo (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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Tags:

Immigration Conflicts Federalism Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Removal from Office Russian Interference

 

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