Daily Update | May 28, 2018
The news that HHS has lost track of thousands of migrant children in its custody casts a new light on a case, Azar v. Garza, concerning the Trump Administration’s authority over undocumented minors. President Trump’s constant tweets attacking the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his campaign’s possible collusion appear to have succeeded in shifting public opinion among Republicans. The Federal Election Commission deadlocked on proposals to consider new rules to address the role of foreign money in funding politically active entities that do not have to disclose their donors. The NFL’s decision to not allow players to kneel during the playing of the anthem is probably illegal for a variety of reasons. Republican lawmakers are pressing regulators to prevent banks from restricting financing for gun sellers.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Events of the past week sent mixed signals regarding the future direction of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, writes Kate Brannen at Just Security.
President Trump’s constant tweets attacking the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his campaign’s possible collusion appear to have succeeded in shifting public opinion among Republicans, Dan Balz reports in the Washington Post.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have obtained a presentation by an Israeli private intelligence firm that examines ways in which Donald Trump’s 2016 election was helped by fake news stories and fake social-media accounts, Byron Tau and Rebecca Ballhaus report in the Wall Street Journal.
Paul Manafort’s trial in a Virginia federal court on tax evasion and bank fraud charges filed by special counsel Robert Mueller will be delayed two weeks, to July 24 (Politico).
- Read the order here.
IMMIGRATION
The news that the Department of Health and Human Services has lost track of thousands of migrant children in its custody casts a new light on a case, Azar v. Garza, concerning the Trump Administration’s authority over undocumented minors, writes Leah Litman at Take Care.
A new lawsuit alleges that a Department of Homeland Security grant program, known as Operation Stonegarden, provides a financial incentive for state or local law enforcement agencies to violate the rights of American motorists near immigration checkpoints, Patrick Eddington writes in Just Security.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed eliminating a rule that allows international entrepreneurs to temporarily stay in the U.S. to help develop their businesses in the country, Justin Wise reports in The Hill.
- Read the Department’s statement here.
CIVIL RIGHTS
A flood of lawsuits with implications for LGBTQ rights is currently making its way through federal courts, “weighing whether sex discrimination laws apply to LGBT people and also whether businesses can assert religious objections to avoid complying with anti-discrimination measures in serving customers, hiring and firing employees, providing health care and placing children with foster or adoptive parents,” writes Mark Sherman in the Associated Press.
DEMOCRACY
President Trump falsely accused The New York Times via Twitter of making up a source in an article about North Korea, even though the source was actually a senior White House official speaking on background to a large group of reporters in the White House briefing room (NYT).
The Federal Election Commission deadlocked on proposals to consider new rules to address the role of foreign money in funding politically active entities that do not have to disclose their donors, Peter Overby writes at NPR.
The federal district court decision holding that Twitter users have a constitutional right not to be blocked by the president’s account was wrong and should be overturned on appeal, Noah Feldman argues in Bloomberg.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
Even if the Iran Deal had been ratified as a treaty, President Trump would still have been able to unilaterally withdraw from it, explains Josh Rubin in Just Security.
Some proposed criminal justice reforms, such as certain community service programs, may run afoul of the Thirteenth Amendment, writes Brianne Power in the OnLabor blog.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt spent $3.5 million in taxpayer funds on his security detail in his first year in office, 1.7 times what his predecessors spent in an average year (NYT).
Joe Grogan, the Office of Management and Budget official with authority over large swathes of health policy, worked on many of the same issues as a lobbyist, which may violate the administration’s ethics rules, reports David Pittman in Politico.
REGULATION
The NFL’s decision to not allow players to kneel during the playing of the anthem after President Trump’s politicization of the issues is probably illegal for a variety of reasons, argues Benjamin Sachs in Vox.
Republican lawmakers are pressing regulators to prevent banks from restricting financing for gun sellers, reports Alan Rappeport in The New York Times.
The Trump Administration announced it had reached a deal that would allow the Chinese telecom firm ZTE to avoid collapse, in a move that will likely face bipartisan resistance on Capitol Hill (NYT).
RULE OF LAW
In defending the rule of law and constitutional norms, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Chris Wray are really limited to just one weapon: resignation, argues Harry Litman in the Washington Post.
Congress’ oversight authority does not allow it to “ride shotgun in an open investigation,” Brad Miller argues in Verdict.
Since first launching his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked foundational American principles, writes Joan Biskupic on CNN.
CHECKS & BALANCES
The Trump Administration overhauled civil service rules through a series of executive order, making it easier to fire federal workers (NYT, WaPo).
- Read the first executive order here.
- Read the second executive order here.
- Read the third executive order here.
Although the Trump Administration has appointed federal appellate judges at a record pace, the administration’s district court nominees are lagging behind (CNN).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
11 days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch, met with Michael Cohen in Trump Tower and “discussed a mutual desire to strengthen Russia’s relations with the United States under President Trump,” William K. Rashbaum, Ben Protess, and Mike McIntire report in the New York Times.
Russian-bought Facebook ads targeted the Hispanic community in order to further inflame ethnic tensions (USA Today).
The FBI is advising users of certain routers and network-attached storage devices to reboot them in order to counter Russian-engineered malware that has infected hundreds of thousands devices, writes Dan Goodin in Ars Technica.
The recent release of documents from several Congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election raise additional questions for Congressional investigators to pursue, writes Alan Neff in a two-partpost on ACS Blog.
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference