Abigail DeHart, Karen Kadish  //  5/4/18  //  Daily Update

Statements by Rudy Giuliani saying that President Trump paid back the $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen to Stephanie Clifford created a stir, both because they contradicted earlier statements and because they may implicate the President in campaign finance violations. The Second Circuit ruled that plaintiffs who were placed on the federal “no-fly list” because they refused to become FBI informants may sue federal officials in their individual capacities under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. Some out-of-use official U.S. government twitter accounts have been taken over by  other groups -- including Russian “trolls” -- despite the twitter handles appearing in the U.S. Digital Registry. FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly received a warning from the Office of Special Counsel for violating federal law by advocating for the reelection of President Donald Trump.

TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION

Statements by Rudy Giuliani saying that President Trump paid back the $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen to Stephanie Clifford created a stir, both because they contradicted earlier statements and because they may implicate the President in campaign finance violations.

• Mr. Giuliani’s statements to Sean Hannity. (Find the transcript here)
• News coverage of Mr. Giuliani’s interview (The Atlantic, WaPo, Fox News)
• President Trump’s initial response to Giuliani’s statements (NPR, NYT).
• Statements from President Trump last month denying payments (NYT).

Recent statements by President Trump and his legal team suggest that they may turn to legal arguments dating back to the Nixon era that the president cannot be indicted while in office, writes Bob Bauer at Just Security.

CIVIL RIGHTS

HHS and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have reached an agreement with a coalition representing blind individuals in a discrimination lawsuit and will begin to distribute information about Medicare in disability-accessible formats, reports the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

The Second Circuit ruled that plaintiffs who were placed on the federal “no-fly list” because they refused to become FBI informants may sue federal officials in their individual capacities under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, writes Howard Friedman at Religion Clause.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is dismantling protections for students who face systemic civil rights abuses, writes Max Lesko at American Constitution Society.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The Ninth Circuit upheld the DEA rule establishing a drug code for marijuana extracts writes Alicia Wallace at The Denver Post. 

The Trump administration is considering executive action to curtail Chinese telecommunications companies’ sales in the United States due to national security concerns, reports John D. McKinnon at the Wall Street Journal.

Army special forces are helping Saudi Arabia fight against Yemen rebels, write Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Eric Schmitt at The New York Times.

Some out-of-use official U.S. government twitter accounts have been taken over by  other groups -- including Russian “trolls” -- despite the twitter handles appearing in the U.S. Digital Registry, report Samarth Bansal and Rob Barry at The Wall Street Journal.

The United States completed a sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine; the sale was approved by President Trump in November, writes Natasha Bertrand at The Atlantic.

REGULATION

The Travel Ban at issue in Trump v. Hawaii should receive no more or less deference by courts than any other agency action, writes Kathryn E. Kouvacs at Yale Journal on Regulation.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The DOJ relaxed its standards for Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prosecutions, making campaign finance violations easier to prosecute because defendants no longer need to exhibit specific knowledge about FECA (YaleJReg). 

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is setting up a legal defense fund for the near-dozen investigations into his work as agency chief (ThinkProgress, NYT).

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that clearing President Trump's judicial nominations is his "top priority” (The Hill).

Two senators introduced a bill to give presidents authority to use military force, or even go to war, unless a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress overrides the president’s veto, writes Christopher Anders at the ACLU.

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly received a warning from the Office of Special Counsel for violating federal law by advocating for the reelection of President Donald Trump (Politico).

• Office of Special Counsel Erica Hamrick’s letter is available here.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The list of over 40 questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller could ask President Trump in an interview focus in on the president’s criminal liability (NYT).

The president may have an obligation to keep Congress informed, even if he does not choose to speak with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, writes David Kris at Lawfare.

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