Shane Hebel, Julia Sherman  //  5/10/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey. The White House did not limit Michael Flynn’s security clearance despite warnings that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail. Dark money has infected the federal judicial appointments process under President Trump.

COMMENTARY ON THE FIRING OF FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY 

President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, citing the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein (NYT, WSJ, The Guardian).

• Here are the news release, letters from President Trump and Attorney General Sessions, and a memorandum regarding the decision.
• The Trump Administration maintained the decision stemmed from Comey’s handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails (WaPo).
• Neil Kinkopf decried Trump's "fake transparency" in his reasons for firing Comey and calls for the appointment of a special counsel (Take Care).
• Jason Harrow explained that Trump does possess the constitutional power to fire Comey (Take Care).
• Noah Feldman warned of a crisis in American rule of law (Bloomberg).
• David Frum cautioned, "This is not a drill" (Atlantic).
• David Graham remarked upon the convenience of this decision vis-a-vis the Russia investigation (Atlantic).
• Ben Wittes & Susan Hennessey described the terimination as a "stunning event" and a "profoundly dangerous thing" (Lawfare).
• Lawfare also hosted an "emergency" podcast to discuss the Comey termination, and began collecting public statements by lawmakers.
• David Post analyzed the firing and echoed calls for a special prosecutor (Volokh Conspiracy).
• Phillip Bobbits noted "this paradox: the president’s alleged acceptance of a recommendation from the attorney general . . . that is almost certainly not itself based on that rationale" (Just Security).
• John Cassidy decribed the firing as "a premeditated and terrifying attack on the American system of government" (New Yorker).
• United to Protect Democracy issued a statement condemning the President's decision.
• Several Republican Senators expressed concern about the firing (Axios).

IMMIGRATION

The Fourth Circuit oral argument on President Trump’s executive order in IRAP v. Trump on Monday continued to prompt discussion of the Trump Administration’s immigration ban. 

• Versus Trump, Bloomberg Law, and Rewire summarize the argument.
• Peter Margulies observed that the judges of the Fourth Circuit appeared skeptical of the Muslim Ban (Lawfare).
• Leah Litman and Erwin Chemerinsky argue that the entry ban is unconstitutional because it is driven by animus at Take Care.
• The executive order is unlawful because President Trump failed to establish the necessary precondition for the exercise of his statutory authority, argues Marty Lederman at Take Care.
• Josh Blackman argued that President Trump’s statements in interviews and during the presidential campaign should not be dispositive(Daily News), and recounted the Government’s primary arguments (Lawfare).

The ACLU has issued a travel warning for Texas based on a law that allows police officers to investigate immigration status during traffic stops (ABA Journal).

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (“NWIRP} is challenging a Department of Justice order to “cease and desist” representing immigrants in deportation hearings (Immigration Prof Blog).

• The cease and desist letter can be found here.
• The NWIRP complaint can be found here.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Charmaine Yoest’s appointment as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services is an attack on reproductive rights, argues Ally Boguhn (Rewire). 

Stephen Colbert’s controversial comments about President Trump are protected under the First Amendment, argues Brian Hauss (ACLU).

DEMOCRACY

President Trump overwhelmingly meets with rich white men and few ideological opponents (Politico).

JUSTICE AND SAFETY

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering a return to harsh punishments for low-level drug offenders (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Congressman Elijah Cummings has requested information concerning Kellyanne Conway’s relationship with The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend (Committee on Oversight & Government Reform).

REGULATION

The Republican health care bill will dramatically affect the employer health benefit system, argues Margot Sanger-Katz (NYT).

Repealing the Dodd-Frank Act would increase the chance of bailouts, suggests Stephen Lubben (NYT).

Trump Administration officials again postpone meeting on Paris Climate Agreement (The Hill). 

President Trump plans to nominate Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelsonto the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (The Hill).

CHECKS & BALANCES

Dark money has infiltrated the judicial appointments process under President Trump, writes Dawn Johnsen at Take Care.

Republican Senators rebuked Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price for limiting agency employees’ communication with Congress (WaPo).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The White House failed to limit Michael Flynn’s security clearance even when warned of Russian blackmail risks, reports Ben Jacobs (The Guardian).

• Testimony by former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates does not explain the Trump Administration’s delay in firing Flynn, notes David Graham (The Atlantic).
• Mattathias Schwartz writes that Yates’ testimony shows the White House lied about Flynn (The Intercept).

President Trump is unconcerned about potential investigations into his business dealings with Russia, according to Press Secretary Sean Spicer (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.  

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