Julia Sherman,  //  6/12/17  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court could decide as as soon as this week whether President Trump’s travel ban should be stopped or implemented. The Government filed a memo in support of its motion to dismiss in the emoluments case Trump v. Crew, arguing that foreign payments to the President's businesses are legal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, in response to James Comey’s testimony. President Trump has also reportedly said that he is “100 percent” willing to testify about his conversations with Comey. 

IMMIGRATION

President Trump’s administration has moved slowly to respond to legal challenges to its executive orders, meaning that few changes have actually been made to U.S. vetting policies (NYT).

The Supreme Court could decide as as soon as this week whether President Trump’s travel ban should be stopped or implemented (USA Today).  

• The very text of the travel ban shows its unconstitutionality, writes Gerald Neuman (Just Security).

The Administration has moved to reopen hundreds of cases of undocumented individuals who received reprieves from deportation under President Obama (The Guardian, ImmigrationProfBlog).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, in response to James Comey’s testimony (NYT, WaPo).

• President Trump has also reportedly said that he is “100 percent” willing to testify about his conversations with Comey (NYT, WSJ, ABA Journal).
• But at Verdict Justia, John Dean writes that President Trump is far from ready to deal with his mounting legal problems.
• President Trump’s best defense to obstruction of justice charges may just be to plead ignorance, writes Paul Rosenzweig (Lawfare).
• At The Atlantic, Adam Serwer analyzes an incompetence defense for President Trump.
• At Dorf on Law, Neil H. Buchanan writes that Republicans acted as expected in defending the President during Comey’s testimony.
• Karen J. Greenberg argues that Comey’s testimony demonstrated that President Trump cares more about himself than his country (WaPo).

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has recruited Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben to assist with his investigation (National Law Journal, WaPo).

• At Just Security, Alex Whiting outlines the next steps in Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation.
• Dan Froomkin writes that Mueller will face tough choices if he finds that President Trump did violate the law (ACS Blog).
• In response to Alan Dershowitz’s claim that the President cannot commit obstruction of justice, Eric Posner writes that this conclusion seems mistaken (Eric Posner).
• As a follow up, Posner and Daniel Hemel write that the major issue for an obstruction charge will come down to the President’s intent (Eric Posner).
• Rick Pildees agrees with Eric Posner, arguing that the Supreme Court has decisively rejected Dershowitz’s view (Lawfare).

President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz will reportedly file a complaint over Comey’s leaked memo, reports Debra Cassens Weiss (ABA Journal)

• At Just Security, Julian Sanchez attempts to parse out the response to Comey’s testimony from Kasowitz.
• At Lawfare, Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes write that Kasowitz’s bad lawyering is doing a disservice to his client.
• Rebecca R. Ruiz and Sharon LaFraniere discuss the differences between Kasowitz’s role as a personal lawyer and President Trump’s relationships with White House attorneys (NYT).

There is no law prohibiting someone from revealing a conversation with the President to a third party, notes Peter M. Shane at Take Care.

• Accordingly, claims by President Trump’s lawyer that Comey violated executive privilege are just wrong, argues Steve Vladeck (WaPo).
• At Just Security, Vladeck provides further analysis on the ridiculousness of the claims.
• Jed Shugerman similarly writes that arguments that Comey violated any laws in revealing his memos are “remarkably weak” (Shugerblog).
• Timothy Edgar and Susan Hennessey also conclude that Comey did nothing wrong (Lawfare).
• Matt Zapotosky argues that while Comey may be a “leaker”, that doesn’t make him a criminal (WaPo).
• At Vox, Sean Illing reports the unanimous views of 10 legal scholars on the legality of Comey’s memo leak.
• At Dorf on Law, Michael Dorf notes that in light of Comey’s testimony, one might want to wear a wire when meeting with President Trump.  

 Republican Senator Susan Collins has called on President Trump to turn over any Comey tapes (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

On Friday, the Government filed a memo in support of its motion to dismiss in the emoluments case Trump v. Crew (Bloomberg Politics, The Guardian, NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

• The memo can be found here.
• The Government is arguing that foreign payments to President Trump’s businesses are legally permitted, reports Jonathan O’Connell (WaPo).
• At Take Care, Richard Primus analyzes the Government’s motion to dismiss.
• At Politico, Joshua Zeitz writes that the Justice Department’s arguments are historically illiterate.

DEMOCRACY

The White House director of social media, Dan Scavino, violated a federal law that prohibits political activity by government employees (NYT).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The U.S. carried out its first drone strike in Somalia since President Trump approved the Pentagon’s proposal to exempt Somalia from special targeting limits in March (NYT).

President Trump committed to participation in NATO’s collective defense on Friday, despite previously calling the alliance “obsolete” (WaPo).

REGULATION

The Senate is trying to write a replacement for the Affordable Care Act in secret, writes Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

• The Republican Party is purposely sabotaging Obamacare, argues the NYT Editorial Board.
• The Washington Post Editorial Board writes that the Trump administration’s lack of clarity on whether a crucial subsidy program will remain funded is ruining the U.S. health insurance system.
• Republican efforts to overturn the ACA threatens the workforce flexibility it offers, argues Reed Abelson (NYT).

The Trump Administration’s proposed reconsideration of President Obama’s climate change rule is nearing public release, reports Timothy Cama (The Hill).  

Thirteen states have vowed to challenge the Trump Administration over any efforts to roll back vehicle emission rules, writes David Shepardson (Reuters).

Since President Trump’s election, women’s health advocates have shifted focus to state legislators to expand birth-control coverage, reports Sheryl Gay Stolberg (NYT).

Eric Morath reports President Trump plans to expand the U.S. workforce with apprenticeships (WSJ).

President Trump plans to include permit reform in his $1 trillion infrastructure package, writes Melanie Zanona (The Hill).

RULE OF LAW

Preet Bharara on Sunday said that President Trump’s efforts to cultivate a relationship with him made him uncomfortable prior to his March firing (WaPo, WSJ).

And that's our update today!  Thanks for reading.  We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary.  

If you have any feedback, please let us know here.