Take Care  //  3/21/17  //  Daily Update

Yesterday, Take Care published several analyses of President Trump's revised entry ban, as well as an assessment of whether Judge Gorsuch likely would vote to uphold it. In other news, at a congressional hearing, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that the agency is investigating whether the Trump Campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. Comey also confirmed that President Trump's claims that President Obama wiretapped him during the campaign are baseless. 

IMMIGRATION

On Take Care, Larry Tribe praised a statement by California Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye condemning the use of state courthouses to bait undocumented immigrants.

Take Care has offered extensive analysis of President Trump’s revised entry ban and the Ninth Circuit’s denial of en banc review in Washington v. Trump (here)

• Amir Ali argues that President Trump’s anti-Muslim campaign statements must be considered in analysis of the revised entry ban.
• Richard Primus argues that motives matter in constitutional law, and criticizes arguments by Judge Kozinski and Jeffrey Toobin (New Yorker).
• Jonathan Taylor walks through Judge Kozinski’s opinion defending the revised entry ban and explains why it is incorrect.
• Leah Litman and Amir Ali review Judge Gorsuch’s record in the Bush Administration and conclude he likely would uphold the entry ban.  
• At ACS Blog, Heidi Kitrosser considers the propriety of holding President Trump accountable for his campaign statements.
• Elsewhere, Rick Hasen (Slate) argues that Judge Kozinski may have dissented with the goal of persuading Justice Kennedy to uphold the entry ban.
• And Lyle Denniston reports that Judge Chuang in Maryland is now considering a broader order against the revised entry ban.

The Trump Administration has moved forward with its tough-on-immigration stance, despite fierce resistance.

• The Department of Justice has sued a naturalized U.S. citizen to revoke her citizenship for providing support to al Qaeda, reports Robert Chesney (Lawfare).  The complaint seeking denaturalization can be found here.
• April Doss (Lawfare) argues that the Trump administration may go even further than pending legislation would allow in requiring foreign visitors to give border officials their electronic passwords.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Kolsuz, arguing personal information on phones is protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The crackdown lacks guidelines for businesses, according to Terry Carter (ABA Journal).

• The NY Times editorial board agrees.

CIVIL RIGHTS

LGBT communities are worried about an absence of hate crime prosecutions under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

• Terry Carter (ABA Journal) notes that AG Sessions opposed a 2009 hate crime law, suggesting hostility to bringing such cases.

President Trump’s “alternative facts” about abortion are wrong and dangerous, as Sofia Resnick explains for Rewire.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Boycott campaigns against Trump businesses can keep public attention on the President’s conflicts, according to Michael Marcua of The Global Anticorruption Blog.

Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue has many conflicts of interest, which are helpfully detailed here by Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

TSA will now prohibit passengers from some African and Middle Eastern nations from bringing computers, laptops, and tablets in carry-on baggage (WaPo, Ars Technica).

REGULATION

The EPA cannot lawfully gut climate change regulations, for reasons spelled out on Take Care by Eli Savit.

A House Subcommittee will hold a hearing today on the constitutionality of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB Monitor).

• Thaya Brook Knight discusses a brief filed by the Justice Department arguing that the CFPB is structured in an unconstitutional manner (Cato at Liberty).

The Trump administration’s plan to curb agency regulation powers will hurt workers, explains Andrew Strom at On Labor.

The Trump administration has rolled back protections for people in default on student loans (Consumer Law & Policy Blog, Washington Post).

Trump advisors says the U.S. will remain in the Paris Agreement on climate change only if concessions are made for the fossil fuel industry (Politico).

The Department of Energy announced it will postpone efficiency rules and energy conservation standards promulgated by the Obama Administration (The Hill).

CHECKS & BALANCES

Judge Gorsuch likely will rule in favor of increasing presidential power on key issues, explains Leah Litman for Take Care.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

FBI Director James Comey confirmed the agency is investigating whether the Trump Campaign colluded with Russia to influence the election (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

• President Trump tweeted “the NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.”
• Director Comey’s testimony is bad for President Trump, explains Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare, where Adam Klein also offers additional takeaways from the hearing.
• The Russia-Trump timeline is described at Just Security, which also offers analysis of today’s dramatic hearings.

This post reflects the hard work and diligence of Shane Hebel and Britany Riley.

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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