Karen Kadish  //  6/27/18  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court upheld the most recent version of the Travel Ban in a 5-4 decision. The Executive Order signed by President Trump last week does not actually compel the government to end family separations. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. have sued the Trump administration for separating children and parents who enter the United States illegally across the Southern border. A federal judge ordered the government to give undocumented immigrants detained at a federal prison in Oregon access to attorneys. Eight tech industry giants met with intelligence officials last month to discuss preparations for the midterm elections and ways to prevent Russian interference in the elections. Former National Security Agency contractor, Reality Winner, pled guilty to mishandling government secrets and will serve about five years in prison for leaking a report on Russian hacking efforts on U.S. election systems.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION

Michael Cohen’s legal team has claimed privilege for 12,000 files seized by the federal government in the April 9^th raid on Mr. Cohen’s apartment report James Hill and Lucien Bruggeman at ABC News.

IMMIGRATION 

The Supreme Court upheld the most recent version of the Travel Ban in a 5-4 decision.

• The decision is available here.
• A summary and brief analysis of the decision (Lawfare).
• Analysis of the decision shows that it was largely based on a broad view of presidential authority over immigration and national security. (Volokh Conspiracy; SCOTUS Blog; NYT)
• This decision was correct because of the wide deference given to the President on national security matters writes Ilya Shapiro at Cato Institute.
• The Court’s approach to the travel ban gives the President unchecked patterns and sets up a risky precedent writes Leah Litman at The New York Times.
• The decision was too deferential to the President, although the Court did correctly include President Trump’s statements into their analysis of animus asserts Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy.

The Executive Order signed by President Trump last week does not actually compel the government to end family separations writes Cary Coglianese at The Regulatory Review.

A Guatemalan asylum seeker is suing the Trump administration to be reunited with her child  reports Jacqueline Thomsen at The Hill. 

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. have sued the Trump administration for separating children and parents who enter the United States illegally across the Southern border, writes Matt Zapotosky at The Washington Post. 

A federal judge ordered the government to give undocumented immigrants detained at a federal prison in Oregon access to attorneys reports Tyler Dumont at Fox12 Oregon.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Fear of deportation is deterring parents living in America without immigration status from accessing Medicaid and other government programs for their children with disabilities writes Ashley Lopez at Disability Scoop.

DEMOCRACY

The Supreme Court’s analysis of the travel ban opens up the possibility that the court will find President Trump’s Twitter statements to carry meaningful force and may have implications for other cases challenging the constitutionality of President Trump blocking Twitter users on his personal Twitter page reports Brian Fung at The Washington Post.

Eight tech industry giants met with intelligence officials last month to discuss preparations for the midterm elections and ways to prevent Russian interference in the elections report Sheera Frenkel and Matthew Rosenberg at The New York Times.

Tobacco company Reynolds America gave $1.5 million to a pro-Trump dark money nonprofit America First Policies in 2017, making it the fourth and largest known corporate donor to the group reports Walker Davis at CREW.

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

President Trump has eased off his demands for new restrictions on Chinese tech investments, and says he will instead rely on a 1988 law that permits the government to review foreign investments for national security problems writes Bob Davis at The Wall Street Journal. 

A senior State Department official said that the United States is expecting other countries to cut off their oil imports from Iran or face sanctions. (WSJ ; WaPo) 

Former National Security Agency contractor, Reality Winner, pled guilty to mishandling government secrets and will serve about five years in prison for leaking a report on Russian hacking efforts on U.S. election systems, reports Devlin Barrett at The Washington Post.

The possibility of North Korean denuclearization raises questions about the future of the United States’ own missile defense systems writes Robert Burns at The Washington Post

With the confirmation of Gina Haspel as director of the CIA, legal constraints on the use of torture – such as the McCain-Feinstein Amendment and the National Defense Authorization Act’s requirement that the government adhere to the 2006 Army Field Manual become increasingly important writes Steven J. Barela at Just Security.

REGULATION 

The EPA is proposing to increase the amount of biofuels that American oil refiners have to blend into the gasoline and diesel they sell reports Timothy Cama at The Hill.

President Trump responded on Twitter to Harley-Davidson’s announcement that it would move some of its production abroad in response to the EU’s retaliatory tariffs, saying that the company would face increased taxation writes Alan Rappeport at The New York Times.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

A district-court judge refused to dismiss charges brought against Paul Manafort by Special Counsel Robert Mueller reports Sarah N. Lynch at Reuters.

• The full opinion is available here.

Tags: