Karen Kadish  //  7/11/19  //  Daily Update

The Fourth Circuit dismissed the Emoluments Clause case brought by Maryland and Washington D.C. against President Trump, holding that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing. The Second Circuit affirmed a decision holding that President Trump cannot block individuals on Twitter based on their political opinions. A second federal judge denied the Justice Department’s attempt to change the lawyers working on the lawsuit regarding adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. A district judge denied the government’s motion to dismiss a challenge to President Trump’s travel ban.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATION AND LITIGATION

The Fourth Circuit dismissed the Emoluments Clause case brought by Maryland and Washington D.C. against President Trump, holding that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing.

• The decision is available here.

The Second Circuit affirmed a lower court decision stating that President Trump cannot block individuals on Twitter based on their political opinions. (Cato; Volokh Conspiracy)

The Department of Justice will name Michael Flynn as a co-conspirator in the trial of Bijan Rafiekian and Kamil Ekim Alptekin for conspiracy and acting as agents of a foreign government. (Lawfare)

IMMIGRATION

A second federal judge denied the Justice Department’s attempt to change the lawyers working on the lawsuit regarding adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, citing concerns that a change in counsel would complicate an already complex case. (Volokh Conspiracy; WaPo)

• Some scholars have suggested that the DOJ attempted to change the legal team because it was unhappy with the original attorneys’ unwillingness to lie to the court about the government’s rationale for adding the question. (Verdict)
• ImmigrationProf Blog analyzes some questions that are raised by the government’s attempt to change lawyers at this point in the census litigation.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Advocates filed a brief with the Supreme Court explaining why Title VII’s gender protections should protect employees from discrimination based on transgender status. (Take Care Blog)

• Title VII bans discrimination based on transgender status because such discrimination is done through the consideration of an individual’s sex and because a change in any characteristic protected by Title VII is protected from discrimination, writes Joshua Matz at Take Care Blog.
• Joshua Matz also addresses several arguments that Title VII does not protect transgender status.

A district judge denied the government’s motion to dismiss a challenge to President Trump’s travel ban. (Lawfare)

The Trump Administration’s new Commission on Unalienable Rights will likely roll back gains in rights for the LGBTQIA community and women, as well as deprioritizing certain human rights priorities, write Jayne Huckerby, Sarah Knuckey, and Meg Satterthwaite at Just Security.

DEMOCRACY

The C.I.A. is advocating for  Congress to expand the criminal liability for disclosing the identity of undercover intelligence agents, inciting concerns among advocates of journalistic freedom, reports Charlie Savage at The New York Times.

REGULATION 

The Fifth Circuit may be posed to declare parts or all of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, writes Nick Bagley at Take Care Blog.

Antônion Sepulveda and Igor De Lazari discuss the parallels between President Trump’s and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s approaches to curbing the administrative state at Notice and Comment.