,  //  5/23/17  //  Daily Update

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn invokes the Fifth Amendment before Congress. Representative Cummings accuses Flynn of misleading investigators. And discussion about the potential legal and political merits of impeachment of the President continues. Meanwhile, the President visits the Middle East, and details leak about his forthcoming budget proposal.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE    

Daniel Hemel writes for Take Care that Rod Rosenstein should recuse himself from the probe into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia and President Trump’s alleged attempts to obstruct the FBI’s inquiry.

• Julie Hirschfield Davis and Rebecca R. Ruiz provide an illustrative profile of Mr. Rosenstein (NYTimes).

Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima report President Trump asked Daniel Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, and Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the Director of the National Security Agency, to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible linkages between the Trump campaign and the Russian government (WaPo). 

In response to a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence subpoena, Michael Flynn’s lawyers sent the Committee a letter saying that Mr. Flynn was invoking the 5th Amendment right against self incrimination and would not provide the requested documents (AP, WaPo, WSJ).

• The letter text can be found here. 
• Philip Bump details the consequences Mr. Flynn may face (WaPo). 
• Simon H. Bloom discusses whether Congress might hold Mr. Flynn in contempt and argues the Senate is unlikely to seek civil enforcement of its subpoena (The Hill). 

The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), then released a letter stating Mr. Flynn misled Pentagon investigators about his income from companies in Russia and contacts with officials there in 2016 when he applied to renew his top-secret security clearance (NYTimes, WaPo, WSJ, Lawfare).

• Rep. Cumming’s letter can be found here. Rep. Cummings also requested Rep. Chaffetz, the highest-ranking Republican on the committee, subpoena the relevant documents from the White House or schedule a meeting for committee members to vote to subpoena the relevant documents themselves.

Shane Harris reports Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent the National Security Agency a letter requesting information about security measures taken after the recent White House meeting between President Trump and senior Russian officials (WSJ). 

Robert Costa and Ashley Parker write that President Trump is moving to appoint outside counsel to represent him in the investigations of his campaign and potential Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election (WaPo). 

• Jennifer Rubin discusses the difference between the charge that President Trump colluded with the Russians and the charge that President Trump obstructed justice by impeding investigation into charges of collusion (WaPo). 

On Tuesday, May 23rd, John Brennan, the CIA Director under President Obama, will testify in an open hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on Russian interference efforts in the 2016 election (The Hill). 

Michael Daly of the Daily Beast argues Russia is still an adversary and Vladimir Putin was the ultimate winner of the 2016 presidential election. 

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Nikolas Bowie argues on Take Care that President Trump should not be impeached if he hasn’t committed a crime, even if, as others have noted, that is technically an option.

Walter Shapiro makes “the liberal case” against impeaching President Trump, arguing the negative effects and consequences of impeachment would outweigh any benefits (Brennan Center for Justice). 

Gerald F. Seib advocates for President Trump to follow President Reagan’s lead in adopting an open and disciplined approach toward investigations into alleged wrongdoings (WSJ). 

IMMIGRATION

Almost sixty thousand Haitians will be able to extend their temporary protected status for another six months, a status they were granted after the 2010 earthquake (NYT).

An estimated 629,000 visitors to the United States remained in the country at the end of last year after overstaying their visas as students, workers or tourists, a DHS Report states (NYT).

Attorney General Sessions issued a notice Monday making clear that officials will narrowly interpret a January executive order stemming the flow of federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities (Politico).

CIVIL RIGHTS

President Trump’s proposed budget cuts to legal services are yet another way of making poor people suffer, argues Lisa Needham for Rewire.

DEMOCRACY

The Trump Administration has moved to block an effort to disclose the names of former lobbyists who have been granted waivers to work in the White House or federal agencies (NYT).

The Office of Government Ethics has declined the Office of Management and Budget’s request to suspend its ethics inquiry into individual appointees and practices of agency ethics (NYT).

The policies limiting White House-DOJ contacts play a key role in protecting our constitutional democracy, argues Justin Florence for Lawfare.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

In a speech in Saudi Arabia, President Trump declared his commitment to Sunni Arab nations and signaled his intention to end engagement with Iran (NYT).

• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called President Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia empty theatrics and mocked his support for a monarchy that has “never seen a ballot box” (NYT).

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s analytic framework for national security marks a radical departure from a bipartisan consensus on foreign policy that has served our country well over the last several decades, argues Michael Posner for Just Security.

President Trump visited Israel on Monday to discuss a deal with Palestinians (NYT).

• Here are highlights from Trump’s news conference with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu (WaPo).

The leakers who revealed Israel as the source of President Trump’s intelligence that he shared with Russian diplomats did far more damage than Trump, argues Marc. A Thiessen in the Washington Post.

Strong human rights standards must govern any solution to the problem of cross-border law enforcement demands, argue Scarlet Kim and Greg Nojeim for Lawfare.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

At the Washington Post, Darla Cameron, Amy Brittain, and Jonathan O’Connell detail Jared Kushner’s continued holdings. 

REGULATION

The White House budget will be submitted to Congress this week while President Trump is traveling overseas. 

• Nick Timiraos writes this timing may serve to diminish the attention paid to the budget proposal (WSJ).
• Richard Rubin provides a guide to what may be the areas of greatest contention (WSJ).  
• At the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach and Lena H. Sun report on the large proposed cuts to health services and medical research. 
• Caitlin Dewey and Tracy Jan note that proposed cuts to food stamps could hit hardest in areas populated by President Trump’s supporters (WaPo). 
• The budget also includes a series of cuts to federal retirement programs (WaPo, Cato). 
• Lisa Needham reports that two early Trump administration budget proposals eliminate a program that helps low-income individuals with legal issues, including obtaining restraining orders, preventing foreclosures, and working to fight lending scams targeting the elderly (Rewire). 
• The Environmental Law and Policy Center highlights that the budget zeroes out funding for Great Lakes restoration efforts.

On Take Care, Leah Litman writes that the federal courts should not use a statute’s novelty to hold it unconstitutional; rather, when the D.C. Circuit (en banc) hears oral argument this week in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, it should take the opportunity to curb anti-novelty rhetoric.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee investigates a recent statement by President Trump that the U.S. always loses in a court in Canada on trade-related matters (WaPo). 

Congress is considering a bill called “The Regulatory Accountability Act,” which would make it more difficult for agencies to create new consumer protections (Mother Jones, Public Citizen). 

RULE OF LAW

Robert Pear reports the Trump administration asked a federal appellate court to delay ruling on a lawsuit that could determine whether the government will continue, under the Affordable Care Act, paying subsidies to health insurance companies for the benefit of low-income people (NYTimes). 

CHECKS & BALANCES

At Take Care, Michael C. Dorf contemplates the role of senior staff in curbing presidential impulses and the potential costs of compromise (cross-posted with Dorf on Law). 

Quinta Jurecic dives back into the debate over whether individuals could serve ethically in the Trump Administration through analysis of recent actions by Rod Rosenstein and H.R. McMaster (Lawfare).

On Lawfare, Justin Florence describes the importance of policies limiting contact between the White House and the Department of Justice. 

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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