Daily Update | November 14, 2017
Kate Berry // 11/14/17 //
The Ninth Circuit ruled that a portion of the third travel ban may take effect, allowing the government to prohibit the entry of individuals from certain countries who lack a bona fide relationship with a person in the United States. DOJ prosecutors are considering whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate donations to the Clinton Foundation. Donald Trump Jr. communicated via private message on Twitter with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign; those communications were provided by Trump Jr. to Congressional committees investigating Russian interference.
IMMIGRATION
The Ninth Circuit ruled that a portion of the third travel ban may take effect, allowing the government to prohibit the entry of individuals from certain countries who lack a bona fide relationship with a person in the United States (WaPo, WSJ).
CIVIL RIGHTS
FBI hate crime statistics show a five percent increase in hate crimes in 2016 (WSJ, HRC).
DEMOCRACY
DC Superior Court limited information DOJ investigators will be able to see about third party users in its investigation of Facebook and criminal rioting on Inauguration Day (The Hill).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The Solicitor General’s filing in Hargan v. Garza suggests the Trump Administration views the DOJ as a political tool, writes Leah Litman at Take Care.
DOJ prosecutors are considering whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate donations to the Clinton Foundation (NYT, WaPo, LA Times, Politico).
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s letter to Congress here.
The Trump Administration’s new drones policy may require countries that assist the U.S. in lethal operations outside areas of active hostilities to assess whether a particular situation is in line with international law (Just Security).
Tuesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing is an important opportunity to revise U.S. launch policy and the authority of the executive, write Daryl Kimball and Kingston Reif at The Hill.
91 percent of President Trump’s federal judicial nominees are white and 81 percent are male, according to recent Associated Press analysis.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
A recent golf tournament hosted at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonberg in Ireland was funded in part by entities funded by the governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Citizens for Ethics).
Democratic lawmakers demanded an investigation into FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for potential partisanship in his dealings with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been favorable to the Trump Administration (ArsTechnica).
Brett T. Talley, Trump Administration nominee for federal court in Alabama, failed to disclose that his wife is an attorney in the White House (WaPo).
REGULATION
The CFBP published two notices in the Federal Register, seeking information about experiences with free credit reporting agencies and alerting the public to an updated free credit score access list (Consumer Finance Monitor).
The FDA approved a digital pill which will permit doctors to determine whether and when a patient takes the prescribed medication, generating concerns about patient privacy (NYT).
Alex M. Azar II, former president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, was nominated by President Trump to succeed former secretary Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services (NYT, LA Times, WSJ, Politico).
- During Azar’s tenure at Eli Lilly drug prices rose dramatically for top-selling drugs (WSJ).
Democratic lawmakers weighed in on proposed FEC regulations for online political advertisements (The Hill).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Donald Trump Jr. communicated via private message on Twitter with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign; those communications were provided by Trump Jr. to Congressional committees investigating Russian interference (NYT, The Hill, WSJ, Ars Technica, Politico).
- Just Security has the full text of the exchanges here.
- Vice President Mike Pence denied knowledge of the communications (LA Times).
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify on Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee and provide an update on the investigation into Russian interference (The Hill, LA Times).