Daily Update | May 22, 2018
The White House affirmed President Trump’s use of the word ‘animal’ to describe undocumented immigrants, issuing a press release that referred to MS-13 as ‘animals’ 13 times. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced a suspension of the threat to place tariffs on Chinese imports. As the U.S. pours upwards of $2.8 trillion into counterterrorism efforts, the government has no clear, government-wide definition of counterterrorism or activities that should be funded as such. Michael Cohen helped a donor to President Trump’s campaign secure an investment from a Qatar fund. President Trump refuses to use a secure cell phone. The Volcker Rule might be on its way out.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION
Some claims made by Alan Dershowitz and President Trump’s attorneys regarding whether he has the power to initiate, direct, or conclude any criminal investigation for any reason are not adequately supported, writes Bob Bauer at Just Security.
DOJ has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the FBI or DOJ’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign (Lawfare, L.A. Times, WaPo).
- Chief of Staff John Kelly will meet with the FBI, DOJ, DNI, and congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested.
- This is a ‘murky deal,’ write Darren Samuelsohn and Kyle Cheney at Politico.
Michael Cohen helped a donor to President Trump’s campaign secure an investment from a Qatar fund (WSJ).
The RNC paid $450,000 in April to the law firm representing Hope Hicks in the Mueller investigation (Politico).
IMMIGRATION
DOJ has been tough on immigration offenses for years, even before Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ new zero-tolerance mandate, writes Yolanda Martinez at The Marshall Project.
The White House affirmed President Trump’s use of the word ‘animal’ to describe undocumented immigrants, issuing a press release that referred to MS-13 as ‘animals’ 13 times (Politico).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced a suspension of the threat to place tariffs on Chinese imports (WSJ).
- President Trump defended his strategy regarding trade with China (NYT).
- Postponing the trade war with China was a smart decision, writes Daniel J. Ikenson at Cato.
- The suspension ‘victory lap’ masks an uncertain, challenging issue, writes Ben White at Politico.
- Infighting within the Executive Branch qualifies the success of the move (NYT).
Enforcing President Trump’s immigration plan will be more difficult than expected, writes Nolan Rappaport at The Hill.
As the U.S. pours upwards of $2.8 trillion into counterterrorism efforts, the government has no clear, government-wide definition of counterterrorism or activities that should be funded as such, writes Luke Hartig at Just Security.
International law undergirds the obligations of the international community and the other partners to the Iran Nuclear Deal in responding to President Trump’s withdrawal from the deal, write Katayoun Hosseinnejad and Pouria Askary at Opinio Juris.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo enumerated demands that Iran must meet to have sanctions lifted.
The Al-Nashiri case is a microcosm of the issues with military commissions, writes Steve Vladeck at Lawfare.
North Korea’s cancellation of the meeting with South Korea and threats to cancel next month’s summit with President Trump should not dissuade the Trump administration from going through with the summit, writes Eric Gomez at Cato.
After the Cloud Act, there is the potential for an agreement between the European Union and the U.S. to share law enforcement access to digital evidence, write Jennifer Daskal and Peter Swire at Lawfare.
The U.S. increased the sanctions against Venezuela, the day after its election (NYT).
- The sanctions are intended to punish what the U.S. sees as an unfair election (L.A. Times).
President Trump swore in Gina Haspel as the new CIA Director (NYT, WSJ).
President Trump refuses to use a secure cell phone (Politico).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Brookfield, the fund which is negotiating to buy Kushner’s unsuccessful real estate investment, is also linked to the United Arab Emirates (Shugerblog).
There is a ‘shadow N.S.C.’ advising National Security Advisor John Bolton, writes Kenneth P. Vogel at NYT.
REGULATION
The Volcker Rule might be on its way out (NYT).
Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Regulation Justice & Safety