Daily Update | March 12, 2018
Ian Eppler, Jeffrey Stein // 3/12/18 //
The ACLU announced it has filed a national class-action lawsuit against multiple federal government agencies over the practice of separating asylum-seeking families. President Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal if Germany, France and the United Kingdom do not meet his demands. The Trump and Kushner families have developed increasingly close business relationships since President Trump was elected and Jared Kushner joined the White House. President Trump’s efforts to undermine the independence of federal law enforcement agencies mirror the approach of autocratic leaders.
IMMIGRATION
The number of visas issued to foreign students fell markedly last year amid stricter immigration policies, according to State Department data (WSJ).
California and the Trump administration are engaged in an all-out war over immigration enforcement, with California refusing to back down despite the Justice Department’s recent lawsuit (WaPo).
- The Justice Department's framing of its lawsuit challenging three California sanctuary laws as analogous to the Obama Administration's successful challenge of an Arizona immigration law is flawed, writes Peter L. Markowitz for the New York Times.
- The Supremacy Clause does not require states to help enforce federal law or to give the federal government the same services and assistance available to private parties or to state and local officials, writes Ilya Somin for the Volokh Conspiracy.
- California is not interfering with immigration enforcement, but simply ensuring that immigrants are afforded dignity during immigration enforcement proceedings, argues Rachel Cefalu at ImmigrationProf Blog.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced it has filed a national class-action lawsuit against multiple federal government agencies over the practice of separating asylum-seeking families (The Hill).
Around 600 legal permanent residents of Cambodian descent have been deported from the United States, many directly from prison (NYT).
DEMOCRACY
President Trump would be able to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places nationwide during a federal election if a provision in a Homeland Security reauthorization bill remains intact, prompting outrage from more than a dozen top elections officials around the country (Boston Globe).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he does not want to talk about the Korean Peninsula “at all” at this time, leaving it to the State Department and senior members of the White House to address questions about the meeting because it is a diplomatically led effort (WaPo).
President Trump claimed to have the backing of the leaders of China and Japan for his plan to hold a summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (WaPo).
The Trump administration is studying new policy that could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drug dealers, a sign that the White House wants to make a strong statement in addressing the opioid crisis (WaPo).
The Department of Justice submitted a notice of a regulation regarding the definition of "machine gun" in the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act, proposing to include "bump stock type devices" (WaPo, The Hill).
- However, the White House is expected to release a plan that would urge states to allow school staffers to carry concealed weapons (WSJ).
President Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal if Germany, France and the United Kingdom do not meet his demands (Axios, The Hill).
President Trump pardoned a Navy submariner sentenced to prison for taking photos inside the classified engine room of a nuclear submarine, marking the second pardon of his presidency (Politico).
The late-Justice Scalia's opinion in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants’ Association will thwart President Trump's new push to restrict video games, writes Matt Ford in The New Republic.
While President Trump's wish for a military parade in Washington on Veterans Day has been granted, the parade will not include heavy military vehicles, like tanks, in order to minimize damage to Washington’s streets (WaPo).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Trump and Kushner families have developed increasingly close business relationships since President Trump was elected and Jared Kushner joined the White House, report Ben Protess, Steve Eder, and Jesse Drucker in the New York Times.
REGULATION
The Trump administration is upholding the law by blocking Idaho’s efforts to allow the sale of insurance plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act, but new federal regulations may have a similar effect to Idaho’s proposal, contends Nick Bagley at Take Care.
Several leading Congressional Republicans objected to President Trump’s announcement of steel and aluminum tariffs, with some proposing legislation to block them (Politico, The Hill, WSJ).
- President Trump proposed an exception for Australia (The Hill).
- The tariffs have met with backlash from several foreign governments, reports Megan Cassella in Politico.
The rushed passage of President Trump’s tax bill produced errors and ambiguities that have led to unintended consequences, write Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport in the New York Times.
RULE OF LAW
President Trump’s efforts to undermine the independence of federal law enforcement agencies mirror the approach of autocratic leaders, argue Ben Berwick and Ariela Rosenberg at Take Care.
An advocacy group filed an amicus brief on behalf of several former Department of Justice leaders, contending that DOJ’s efforts to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger are unconstitutional if President Trump ordered the action to retaliate against unfavorable news coverage on CNN (NBC News, The Hill).
- The brief is available here.
- There are constitutional limits on the White House’s ability to direct enforcement action against disfavored entities, argue Ben Berwick and Justin Florence at Lawfare.
- Jennifer Rubin discusses the brief in the Washington Post.
Several election law experts contend that President Trump may have violated federal election law through his method of making a payment to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, in a violation similar to the one that led to the indictment of former presidential candidate John Edwards, report Josh Gerstein and Lorraine Woellert in Politico.
- Many experts believe the matter warrants further investigation, notes Ken Dilanian at NBC News.
FEDERALISM
While Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a strong proponent of federalism during his tenure as a senator, he has attempted to undermine state authority to adopt policies disfavored by the Trump administration during his tenure as Attorney General, note Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is discovering that the strong role of state and local government in public education is an impediment to implementing her policy proposals, writes Erica Green in the New York Times.
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
President Trump is currently negotiating with Emmet Flood, a lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment, in an effort to have Mr. Flood join his defense team, report Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt in the New York Times.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
In 2013, President Trump sent a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting him to the Miss Universe pageant, contradicting Trump’s assertions that he had never communicated with Putin, report Shane Harris, Rosalind Helderman, and Karoun Demirjian in the Washington Post.
In an interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied responsibility for interfering in the 2016 election, claiming that the hacking and interference may have been the responsibility of “Jews...with Russian citizenship” (NBC News).
- Putin’s narrative in the interview evokes the one promoted by former Trump campaign officials and President Trump himself, notes Kate Brannen at Just Security.
Leaks from individuals under investigation have likely given an incomplete public picture of the Mueller investigation, writes Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Federalism Regulation Democracy Justice & Safety Removal from Office Russian Interference