Daily Update | July 16, 2018
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates sued the Department of Education for failing to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate services no matter their racial background. President Trump’s recent executive order modifying the way administrative law judges are hired risks politicizing the federal workforce. Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court may spell the end of strong civil rights enforcement in the United States when it comes to voting rights. The National Rifle Association may have violated federal campaign finance laws by using opaque consulting firms as conduits for illegally coordinating with candidates for office. Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking and stealing emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton presidential campaign. Mueller is pushing to wrap up a significant portion of his investigative work by the end of the summer.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is pushing to wrap up a significant portion of his investigative work by the end of the summer, Devlin Barrett, Matt Zapotosky, Carol D. Leonnig, and Shane Harris report in the Washington Post.
IMMIGRATION
The Trump Administration claimed it would speed up the the process to reunify thousands of migrant children that were separated from their parents at the border as a result of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, writes Dan Diamond in Politico.
- Read the court filing in which the administration made the announcement here.
- The federal judge overseeing the case criticized the government’s claims in court, reports Maria Sacchetti in the Washington Post.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates sued the Department of Education for failing to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate services no matter their racial background as required by law, writes Michelle Diament in DisabilityScoop.
DEMOCRACY
Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court may spell the end of strong civil rights enforcement in the United States when it comes to voting rights, Ari Berman argues in the New York Times.
- Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination may lead to a dramatic shift in the Court’s jurisprudence on various aspects of electoral reform, writes Vikram David Amar in Verdict.
Judge Kavanaugh might join the associational theory Justice Kagan laid out in Gill v. Whitford to address partisan gerrymandering, writes Jason Harrow in The Hill.
The National Rifle Association may have violated federal campaign finance laws by using opaque consulting firms as conduits for illegally coordinating with candidates for office, Mike Spies reports in Politico.
Moving towards a paper ballot system alone is not a panacea for election security, argues Phil Stupak in Real Clear Politics.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The Director of National Intelligence announced that the “warning lights are blinking red” with respect to the threat of a cyber-attack by the Russian government, writes Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times.
Although Judge Kavanaugh has generally evinced a concerning willingness to defer to the executive branch on questions of national security, his opinion in Hamdan is an example of the law being applied fairly to an unpopular defendant, writes Peter Margulies in Lawfare.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Ortiz v. United States may carry unintended consequences for the nation’s military justice system, Dan Maurer writes in Lawfare.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
President Trump’s visit to a golf course he owns in Scotland raises ethical concerns about the promotion of his private business, Katie Rogers writes in the New York Times.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that he would divest a number of stock holdings that the Office of Government Ethics determined violated the terms of his ethics agreement and criminal conflict of interest laws, Ana Swanson reports in the New York Times.
- Read the Office of Government Ethics letter here.
An Inspector General report concluded that former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price wasted at least $341,000 in taxpayer money by chartering private jets and military aircraft, Robert Pear writes in the New York Times.
REGULATION
Congress should pass a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, argues Cameron F. Kerry in Lawfare.
Judge Kavanaugh's judicial writings evidence a deep skepticism of federal workforce protection enforcement, Ruben J. Garcia writes in ACS Blog.
Two Democratic US senators have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate privacy problems related to Internet-connected televisions, writes Jon Brodkin in Ars Technica.
In the wake of Janus, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ proposed home care rule is arbitrary and capricious, Benjamin Sachs argues in On Labor.
Over the last several decades, the United States has experienced a slow but steady decline in abortion access, Elizabeth Renzetti reports in the Toronto Globe & Mail.
CHECKS & BALANCES
President Trump’s recent executive order modifying the way administrative law judges are hired risks politicizing the federal workforce, argues Joe Davidson in the Washington Post.
President Trump has also issued a series of lesser-noticed executive orders that could significantly impact the civil service, writes Bernard Bell in Notice & Comment.
Judge Kavanaugh’s previous writings raise serious questions about how he would rule in the event there is a significant legal dispute involving President Trump, write Norman L. Eisen and Ryan Goodman in Just Security.
- The Senate should ask him several questions on this point during the confirmation process, Alan Neff writes in ACS Blog.
When he eliminated the filibuster for lower-court judicial confirmations in 2014, Harry Reid missed an opportunity to transform the judicial confirmation process, writes David Super in Balkinization.
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Brett Kavanaugh played a key role in drafting the “Starr Report,” recommending that Congress consider impeaching President Clinton, recalls Stephen Bates in Lawfare.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking and stealing emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton presidential campaign (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).
- Read the indictment here.
- There are a number of key takeaways for the American public from the recent indictment (Lawfare).
- Andy Wright, Alex Whiting, Ryan Goodman, and Kate Brannen write on the significance of the indictment at Just Security.
- The indictment spells trouble for President Trump, argue Norman L. Eisen and Noah Bookbinder in the New York Times.
Former FBI attorney Lisa Page was described as “forthcoming” in private testimony delivered before the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees (WaPo).
Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Removal from Office Russian Interference