---

Nicandro Iannacci  //  1/17/19  //  Daily Update

---

Citing security concerns due to the government shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump to reschedule the State of the Union address or deliver it in writing. At his confirmation hearing, William Barr’s testimony sent mixed signals about what kind of Attorney General he will be. In a new report, the inspector general of the GSA says the agency “ignored” constitutional issues in its decision to allow the Trump International Hotel to maintain a lease in the Old Post Office building in Washington and recommended that the agency review the lease again. The Pentagon is developing a new vetting process for recruits with “foreign ties,” including some U.S. citizens. Iranian state television said one of its journalists has been arrested in the United States, but the U.S. government has not confirmed. T-Mobile executives have made repeated stays at Trump hotels, raising suspicions that they are trying to influence the administration’s decision about its merger with Sprint.

 

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

A new court filing from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team suggests prosecutors have collected extensive details about former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s activities that are not yet public (WaPo).

 

IMMIGRATION 

Three new reports highlighted by ImmigrationProf Blog provide further details on U.S. immigration and border enforcement.

• Border apprehensions in 2018 reached their highest point since 2014, yet they remain well below the levels of recent decades. (Pew Research Center)
• Immigrants detained in California are experiencing legal, physical, mental, and other harms. (Human Rights First)
• For the seventh straight year, the number of individuals overstaying their visas exceeded entries without inspection (i.e. illegal border crossings). (Center for Migration Studies)

 

DEMOCRACY

By seeking to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, President Trump is trying to rig the count, writes Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in The Washington Post.

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee William Barr drew a range of commentary.

• Barr was noncommittal but generally signaled alignment with the Trump administration and the DOJ’s direction under former AG Jeff Sessions, writes Brian Tashman for the ACLU.
• “Barr is a deeply troubling pick for this administration at this time,” cautions Bob Bauer at Lawfare.
• The next AG will have discretion to make Special Counsel Mueller’s final report public, but Barr’s comments on the matter left his position unclear, writes Joshua Geltzer for Just Security.
• Barr’s testimony sent mixed signals about what kind of AG he will be, writes Rebecca Roiphe at POLITICO Magazine.
• Criminal justice reformers may not be excited about Barr, but he may prove less resistant to reforms than Sessions, notes Doug Berman in a roundup of commentary on Sentencing Law and Policy.

• Video of the hearing is here.

The Pentagon is developing a new vetting process for recruits with “foreign ties,” including some U.S. citizens (WaPo). 

President Trump could announce a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as early as Friday (WaPo).

Federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation of Chinese company Huawei for alleged theft of trade secrets (WSJ).

A Georgia man was charged with plotting a terrorist attack on the White House (WaPo). 

Iranian state television said one of its journalists has been arrested in the United States, but the U.S. government has not confirmed (NYT).

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In a new report, the inspector general of the GSA says the agency “ignored” constitutional issues in its decision to allow the Trump International Hotel to maintain a lease in the Old Post Office building in Washington and recommended that the agency review the lease again (WaPo, WSJ, Politico, The Hill).

• The inspector general’s report is here.

T-Mobile executives have made repeated stays at Trump hotels, raising suspicions that they are trying to influence the administration’s decision about its merger with Sprint (WaPo).

 

REGULATION

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing for Andrew Wheeler, President Trump’s nominee to lead the EPA (NYT, WSJ, LAT, Politico).

• Video of the hearing is here.

The FCC asked a federal appeals court to delay arguments in a case about the agency’s repeal of net neutrality rules (Ars Technica).

• The FCC’s motion to postpone is here.

 

CHECKS & BALANCES

Citing security concerns due to the government shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump to reschedule the State of the Union address or deliver it in writing. (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, LAT, Politico)

• Speaker Pelosi’s letter to President Trump is here.

 

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

President Trump may be impeached for infusing his policies with bigotry, writes Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) at The Hill.

 

Tags:

Immigration Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Justice & Safety Removal from Office

 

VIEW MORE