Daily Update | February 20, 2018
The Supreme Court is likely to take one of five approaches to the Trump Administration's request for expedited review of a lower court's block on terminating the DACA program. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Jared Kushner “has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition.” AT&T is arguing in court that “President Trump's hatred of CNN played a role in the DOJ's attempt to block AT&T's purchase of Time Warner Inc." The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered new U.S. Congressional maps to rectify what it had previously ruled was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
IMMIGRATION
The Supreme Court is likely to take one of five approaches to the Trump Administration's request for expedited review of a lower court's block on terminating the DACA program, writes Lyle Denniston at his eponymous blog.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Trump Administration’s decision to repeal an Obama-era rule that barred recipients of Social Security disability benefits who designated a “representative payee” respected disability rights, writes Ari Ne’eman in Vox.
“Funding is quickly running out for a popular Medicaid program that transitions people with disabilities from costly institutions to home and community-based living,” writes Courtney Perkes in Disability Scoop.
DEMOCRACY
The Russian campaign of electoral interference highlights that the United States should rethink the way our institutions are designed to ward off the dangers of “faction,” and should consider electoral reforms like multi-member districts and ranked-choice voting, writes Danielle Allen in the Washington Post.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered new U.S. Congressional maps to rectify what it had previously ruled was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, write Jonathan Lai and Liz Navratil at Philly.com.
- The court’s order can be found here. The dissenting opinions can be found here, here, and here.
- State legislative Republicans say they intend to go to federal court to try to block the new maps from going into effect.
- Rick Hasen doesn’t think state legislative Republicans’ litigation options are very good.
- Lyle Denniston analyzes the decision at his eponymous blog here.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Relevant canons of statutory interpretation lead to the conclusion that Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act allows the government to obtain disclosure of communications in extraterritorial electronic storage, an issue which the Supreme Court will rule on in United States v. Microsoft, argues William S. Dodge in Just Security.
President Trump signaled support for a Senate bill that would reinforce the requirement that federal agencies report all criminal infractions to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and create financial incentives for states to do so as well (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).
Politics, not the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment jurisprudence, is blocking stricter gun control measures, argues Scott Lemieux in Los Angeles Times.
Lying to federal investigators should not be a crime, writes Stephen L. Carter in Bloomberg.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Donald Trump, Jr. plans to give a foreign policy address on Indo-Pacific relations during a visit to India to promote his family’s business interests, reports Annie Gowen in the Washington Post.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt cancelled a planned trip to Israel following increased scrutiny of his travel costs after it was reported he frequently travelled in first- or business-class seats, report Juliet Eilperin and Ruth Eglash in the Washington Post.
REGULATION
Some Republican senators are pressuring the Office of Management and Budget to get involved in reviewing tax regulations, breaking long-standing precedent whereby such reviews are handled internally by the Treasury Department and IRS, writes Richard Rubin in the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump’s attempt to try to unilaterally rescind President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is an abuse of the unclear mandates in the Clean Air Act, write Ross Sandler and David Schoenbrod in The Regulatory Review.
AT&T is arguing in court that “President Trump's hatred of CNN played a role in the DOJ's attempt to block AT&T's purchase of Time Warner Inc.,”writes Jon Brodkin in Ars Technica.
The recent bipartisan spending deal included a provision establishing a congressional select committee to craft a federal rescue of hundreds of “multiemployer pension plans” currently hurtling towards insolvency (NYT).
RULE OF LAW
Supporters of President Trump are increasingly calling for him to exercise his pardon power to protect targets of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, reports Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.
The handling of the Rob Porter security clearance scandal exemplifies the Trump Administration’s demagogic governing style, writes Bob Bauer in Lawfare.
CHECKS & BALANCES
For the second year in a row, rumors are swirling in Washington that Justice Anthony Kennedy is considering retirement, writes Adam Liptak in the New York Times.
FEDERALISM
In the absence of Congressional action, states should take steps to protect their elections from foreign meddling, write Ian Vandewalker and Larry Norden in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the wake of the Trump Administration’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, subnational units can take important steps to combat climate change, write Craig Segall and David Hults in The Regulatory Review.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Because legislation protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired would likely be unconstitutional, the Justice Department should issue regulations ensuring the special counsel’s independence, in the model of Robert Bork during Watergate, argue Neal K. Katyal and Kenneth W. Starr in the New York Times.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Jared Kushner “has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition” (CNN).
The Special Counsel’s indictment of Russian nationals for activities interfering in the 2016 presidential election carry foreign policy costs for the United States, argues Jack Goldschmidt in Lawfare.
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 Rule of Law Conflicts Checks & Balances Federalism Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference