Daily Update | July 23, 2018
Roshaan Wasim, Ian Eppler // 7/23/18 //
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Justice released the heavily redacted Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court application to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Materials seized from the office of Trump attorney Michael Cohen include a secret recording, made prior to the 2016 election, of President Trump discussing payments related to Playboy model Karen McDougal, with whom he allegedly had an affair. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats denies criticism of President Trump over the news that President Putin is to be invited to Washington. In a Friday morning TV interview, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports. The Trump administration has proposed changes to Medicare regulations that would adjust compensation for doctors’ visits.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Justice released the heavily redacted Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court application to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page (NYT, Politico, WaPo, WSJ).
- In a tweet, President Trump baselessly claimed that the document was evidence of illegal wiretapping (NYT).
- Carter Page denied being a Russian agent in an appearance on CNN following the release of the documents (WaPo).
- Redaction makes it hard to glean much information from the application, but the application undermines claims of impropriety made by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and others, suggests David Kris at Lawfare.
Materials seized from the office of Trump attorney Michael Cohen include a secret recording, made prior to the 2016 election, of President Trump discussing payments related to Playboy model Karen McDougal, with whom he allegedly had an affair (NYT, WSJ).
- In a tweet, President Trump denied wrongdoing and suggested that both Cohen’s conduct and the raid on his office were illegal (NYT).
- The tape may reflect illegal conduct by American Media Inc., a tabloid publisher run by a friend of President Trump that purchased the rights to Ms. McDougal’s story prior to the election (NYT).
- Michael Avenatti, an attorney for Stormy Daniels, another woman who allegedly had an affair with President Trump, suggested that there are more secret recordings to come (WaPo).
The Special Counsel’s indictment of Russian agents for hacking into computer systems used by the Democratic Party and its candidates suggests that Russian efforts to influence the election were both more sophisticated and more avoidable than previously known, contends Paul Rosenzweig at Lawfare.
IMMIGRATION
Legal challenges leave sanctuary immigration practices in an uneven state (WSJ).
Trump v. Hawaii has deep implications for presidential authority, writes Daphna Renan at Just Security.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Senator Tim Scott is emerging as the GOP’s conscience on race issues, writes Eugene Scott at WaPo.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats denies criticism of President Trump over the news that President Putin is to be invited to Washington (NYT, WaPo).
President Trump holds sway on any new Russia sanctions (WSJ).
REGULATION
In a Friday morning TV interview, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports (Politico).
- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to make trade concessions during a meeting with President Trump this week, in a move that observers hope will forestall a trade war (Politico).
- The administration is considering imposing tariffs on uranium imports (Ars Technica).
The Trump administration has proposed changes to Medicare regulations that would adjust compensation for doctors’ visits. The administration argues that the change will reduce the burden on doctors, but critics suggest that the changes will reduce doctors’ incentives to see Medicare patients with complex conditions (NYT).
President Trump criticizes Federal Reserve and alleges currency manipulation by China and the European Union (WaPo).
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin clarifies remarks by President Trump and insists that the administration will not interfere with the decisions of the Federal Reserve or move to manipulate the value of the dollar (NYT).
Lawmakers, lobbyists, and the Administration join forces to overhaul the Endangered Species Act (NYT).
RULE OF LAW
President Trump’s willingness to lie, as well as Republican support of President Trump in the hopes of advancing the party’s policy agenda, are Hitlerian aspects of Trumpism, argues Sandy Levinson at Balkinization.
While President Trump’s use of the pardon power has been at times alarming, the presidential pardon power itself is an essential component of the rule of law, contends Sam Morison at Just Security.
CHECKS AND BALANCES
The Supreme Court has failed in its obligation to check President Trump, but lower courts may still do so, argues Judge Nancy Gertner in the Huffington Post.
Brett Kavanaugh will fit right in at the pro-corporate Roberts Court (NYT).
FEDERALISM
California has sued the Trump Administration 38 times in the past year and a half (LA Times).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Konstantin Nikolaev, a Russian billionaire with extensive investments in the United States, provided financial support to the efforts of Maria Butina, who was recently charged with attempting to infiltrate American conservative groups on behalf of the Russian government (WaPo).
- Butina’s pretrial detention hearing unsurprisingly raised more questions than it answered, report Victoria Clark, Mikhaila Fogel, and Matthew Kahn in Lawfare.
Microsoft has detected and disrupted 3 Russian attempts to hack into computer systems used by Congressional candidates in 2018 (Ars Technica).
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Checks & Balances Federalism Regulation Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference