Ari Hoffman,  //  5/17/17  //  Daily Update

Reports emerged that President Trump asked James Comey to end his investigation of Michael Flynn. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats are seeking information from the Office of Government Ethics regarding a possible conflict of interest on the part of a Trump ethics official. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal of the Fourth Circuit’s decision finding that a 2013 North Carolina voting law discriminated against African American voters. President Trump significantly expanded prohibitions against providing funds to foreign organizations that perform or advise on abortions.

IMMIGRATION

Reports and analyses concerning the Ninth Circuit oral argument on President Trump’s travel ban continued on Monday (NYT) (Lawfare) (SCOTUSBlog).

• The argument raised important legal questions about how to analyze state of mind when dealing with President Trump, notes Joshua Matz (Guardian).
• The Ninth Circuit seemed particularly focused on the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Peter Margulies observes at Lawfare.
• Josh Blackman argues that the government’s arguments have become sharper and more informed, but there are still major weaknesses for the Administration (Lawfare).

CIVIL RIGHTS

The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from the Fourth Circuit decision finding that a 2013 North Carolina voting law discriminated against African American voters (WaPo).

• Mark Sherman noted that this outcome is unlikely to deter new legislation aimed at restricting voting (AP).
• Paul Waldman concurs that voting rights advocates are likely to face serious challenges in the future (WaPo).

Texas has asked the Trump Administration for Medicaid funds after banning Planned Parenthood from participating in a family planning program (NYT).

President Trump significantly expanded prohibitions against providing funds to foreign organizations that perform or advise on abortions (WSJ).

The Brennan Center has released a proposed federal agenda designed to reduce mass incarceration.

DEMOCRACY

The Trump Administration’s Voter Fraud Commission seeks to solve a non-existent problem, argues the Editorial Board of the New York Times.

Democrats must overcome obstacles imposed by extreme gerrymandering to retake the House in 2018, writes to Manuel Madrid (American Prospect).

Amanda Shor discusses the twin threats posed by President Trump’s attacks on press freedom and his effective use of propaganda at Take Care.

After the recent barrage of scandals, some commentators are questioning anew whether President Trump is fit to serve as President (WaPo) (NYT).

Tom Toles questions how Republicans can contain the fallout from the scandals swirling around the White House (WaPo).

Jonathan Chait ponders the possibility of impeachment in light of President Trump’s recent actions (New York Magazine).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

President Trump’s distrust of national security agencies puts our country at risk, argues Michael Leiter (WaPo).

• The Trump Administration’s rejection of past practices undermines intelligence gathering and our national security, contends David Cohen (NYT). 

Civil rights groups criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent memorandum reinstating harsh federal sentencing policies for drug offenses (Mic).

Senator Cornyn dropped out of the race to be the next F.B.I. Director (Politico).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Nancy Cook assesses the challenge of keeping up with President Trump’s mounting legal woes facing White House counsel Don McGahn (Politico).

Democrats have requested information from the Office of Government Ethics regarding a possible conflict of interest on the part of a Trump ethics official (TheStreet).

• The letter is here.

RULE OF LAW

The Comey saga continued with the revelation that President Trump asked the former F.B.I. Director to end his investigation of Michael Flynn (NYT).

REGULATION

Elizabeth Kolbert expresses skepticism about President Trump’s climate change agenda (The New Yorker).

CHECKS & BALANCES

Zachary Price argues at Take Care that President Trump’s signing statement on marijuana enforcement misunderstands the roles of the Executive and Congress.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Israel provided the intelligence that President Trump disclosed to the Russian Foreign Minister (NYT).

• Lawfare breaks down why President Trump’s disclosure to the Russians is so significant.
• Stephen Tankel analyzes how President Trump’s revelations to Russia may have harmed American interests (WaPo).
• Ryan Goodman discusses how President Trump ignored the usual process for declassifying confidential information (Just Security).
• Susan Hennessey questions whether President Trump violated his oath of office.

Ryan Lizza previews a new interview with Sally Yates that will cover Michael Flynn and the Russia investigations (The New Yorker).

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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