Nicandro Iannacci  //  7/13/19  //  Daily Update

President Trump announced that he would end his effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, instead pursuing citizenship information through other means. The House Judiciary Committee voted to subpoena several witnesses, including Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as part of its investigation into possible obstruction of justice. Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of undocumented immigrants are scheduled to begin on Sunday after an earlier postponement. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with its Title X “gag rule” on abortion referrals, denying a stay while the case is appealed.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

The House Judiciary Committee voted to subpoena several witnesses, including Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as part of its investigation into possible obstruction of justice (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, POLITICO).

President Trump’s lawyers claim a new video of the president with former campaign staffer Alva Johnson refutes her allegations of forcible kissing without consent (WaPo, POLITICO).

Michael Flynn’s lawyer says he will continue to cooperate with federal prosecutors even as he is charged as a co-conspirator in charges against a former business partner (The Hill).

• New court documents reveal that Flynn’s legal team accused the government of trying to coerce Flynn to lie under oath (POLITICO).

IMMIGRATION

President Trump announced that he would end his effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, instead pursuing citizenship information through other means (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, POLITICO, The Hill, SCOTUSblog, ImmigrationProf Blog).

• The House will vote on Tuesday to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt over failure to comply with a congressional subpoena (WaPo, POLITICO).
• The Census controversy shows that congressional oversight and “steel-nerved” judges can constrain executive power, write Leah Litman and Joshua Matz in The Washington Post.
• The president’s withdrawal from his effort to add a citizenship question to the Census is a victory for the rule of law, writes Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog.
• Despite the apparent victory, efforts must be made to make sure everyone is counted, write Govs. Kate Brown (D-Ore.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.).

Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of undocumented immigrants are scheduled to begin on Sunday after an earlier postponement (NYT, BuzzFeed).

• The ACLU filed a preemptive lawsuit arguing that due process requires immigrants receive a hearing before deportation, even if they have missed previous court dates (The Hill). 

New government data shows a “substantial decrease” in the number of immigrants apprehended at the southern border, write Alex Nowrasteh and Andrew Forrester for Cato at Liberty.

A new settlement agreement with CBP aims to prevent suspicionless detention and ID checks of domestic flight passengers, write Hugh Handeyside and Anna Diakun for the ACLU.

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with its Title X “gag rule” on abortion referrals, denying a stay while the case is appealed (The Hill).

Title VII bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, writes Joshua Matz for Take Care. This is the latest in a series of posts on the Title VII cases accepted by the Supreme Court for the October 2019 Term.

Lawyers on the left and right are encouraging the Supreme Court to reconsider qualified immunity for government officials, write Emma Andersson of the ACLU and Jay Schweikert of the Cato Institute for Take Care.

DEMOCRACY

At the White House “Social Media Summit,” President Trump attacked social-media companies for allegedly silencing conservative voices and said he was exploring legislative and regulatory solutions (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, POLITICO, The Hill).

• Ironically, the president himself is the source of much disinformation online, writes Joshua Geltzer for Just Security.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Army General Mark Milley, President Trump’s nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee (WaPo, AP).

Air Force General John Hyten, President Trump’s nominee to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is facing scrutiny for sexual misconduct allegations (WaPo).

A new Secretary of Defense has not been confirmed for seven months, the longest period without a leader in Pentagon history (WaPo).

U.S. officials are considering sanctions on China for purchasing oil from Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions (POLITICO).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Some attendees at the White House “Social Media Summit” have patronized Trump properties in recent months (CREW).

REGULATION

A group of teachers sued the DOE and Secretary Betsy DeVos for due process violations by failing to honor the public service loan forgiveness program (WSJ, The Hill).

The FEC ruled that a cybersecurity company can offer discounted services to 2020 presidential campaigns without violating campaign finance rules (NYT, The Hill).

By ruling that an employer may withdraw recognition of a union even if the union has the support of a majority of workers at the time, the NLRB is once again aligning itself with the interests of employers over workers, writes Andrew Strom at On Labor.