Ari Hoffman, Julia Sherman  //  6/8/17  //  Daily Update

Texas and a group of other states have filed an amicus brief in support of the revised entry ban. Republican Senator Tom Cotton has introduced legislation to make Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permanent. President Trump plans to nominate Christopher A. Wray, a former federal prosecutor, as the next FBI director. Today, former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

IMMIGRATION

The timing of the revised entry ban belies the Trump Administration’s arguments regarding its urgency, writes Amir Ali at Take Care.

• At NYT, Neeti Upadhye reports how President Trump’s tweets may undermine the Administration’s arguments in the pending Supreme Court case.

Led by Texas, 16 states have filed an amicus brief in support of President Trump’s entry ban in the Supreme Court (Law360, Immigration Prof Blog).

• At Take Care, Leah Litman and Ian Samuel outline a basic errors in the brief.

President Trump’s immigration policies will have disastrous effects for female asylum seekers, writes Deborah Ibonwa (Immigration Prof Blog).

Immigration judges have been reassigned to posts at border detention facilities by the Trump Administration to speed up deportations at the border (Immigration Prof Blog).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Republican Senator Tom Cotton has introduced legislation to make Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permanent (Lawfare).

• The White House supports this move, arguing that Section 702 has helped thwart terrorist attacks (NYT).
• The Trump Administration’s support for Section 702 contradicts the President’s public statements on surveillance, notes Neema Singh Guliani (ACLU).
• At Just Security, Sarah St. Vincent writes that Section 702 may be undermining the U.S. criminal justice system.

DEMOCRACY

The Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia may constitute a crime under campaign finance laws, writes Bob Bauer at Just Security.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

President Trump plans to nominate Christopher A. Wray, a former federal prosecutor, as the next FBI director (WaPo, NYT, WSJ).

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has prohibited the Justice Department from negotiating settlement agreements that donate money to outside groups (WaPo).

Four Senators have sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions, seeking answers regarding the DOJ’s new harsher sentencing policy (Sentencing Law and Policy)

The recent arrest of an intelligence contractor for leaking NSA documents isn’t the beginning of a “war on leaks”, argues Nicholas Weaver (Lawfare).

“Where are the United States attorneys?”, asks the NYT Editorial Board.

U.S. officials believe that Russian hackers planted fake news stories which have contributed to rising tensions in the Gulf region (The Hill).

The U.S. could unilaterally withdraw from NATO, argues Julian Ku at Opinio Juris.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Democrats are no longer demanding that Rod Rosenstein recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

However, they do plan to sue Trump over conflicts of interest arising out of the emoluments clause.

The New Yorker takes a look at how the Trump White House is undermining ethics requirements.

The ABA Journal tracks the influx of BigLaw lawyers into key government posts.

The New York Times reports on ethics waivers granted to lobbyist and industry officials to work in senior Administrative posts.

REGULATION

In the first few months of the Trump Administration, federal regulation has come to nearly a complete halt.

RULE OF LAW

Eugene Volokh asks if President Trump's Twitter behavior violates the 1st Amendment.

Marc Thiessen chides the New York Times for printing the name of a covert CIA operative.

CHECKS & BALANCES

Thomas Bossert argues for Congressional reauthorization of foreign surveillance as an essential component of national security policy.

FEDERALISM

The New York Times assesses the role that states and cities can play in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, while The Wall Street Journal is optimistic about Medicaid reform on the state level.

Pittsburgh and Paris have already committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement.

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Jonathan Chait is skeptical about any GOP support for impeaching President Trump.

• Over at the Washington Monthly, Marin Longman disagrees.

Dana Milbank makes the case for a 'President Pence.'

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

James Comey will detail the pressure President Trump exerted on him to announce the President was not under investigation.

• A transcript of his opening remarks is available here.
• Initial analysis of the transcript here and here.
• The New Yorker takes a deep dive into Comey's intellectual history.
• One day out, Mikayla Bouchard previews James Comey's testimony while a number of security officials testified about the FISA Amendment Act, and the Russia investigation.
• The Wall Street Journal has some questions of its own for the former FBI Director. Lawfare runs down the key issues at play today.
• Meanwhile, President Trump is anxious to respond.
• His aides, however, are increasingly wary of the President's propensity to undercut them.

The Washington Post reports that Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coates told associates that President Trump asked him if he could get Comey to back off Michael Flynn in the Russia probe.

Aaron Blake analyzes why the Russia news has become increasingly grim for President Trump.

Politico takes stock of the lessons Trump Administration lawyers have gleaned from the Clinton Administration regarding attorney-client privilege. 

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.

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