Kate Berry  //  11/16/17  //  Daily Update

Six House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump. The Immigration Defense Project reported a 900% increase in arrests and attempted arrests at courthouses by ICE this year. The DOJ inspector general will release a report this spring containing findings regarding the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

IMMIGRATION 

4,000 DACA renewal applications were rejected by the Trump Administration for being late; some of the applications were in the USCIS mailbox on the October 5 deadline (Immigration Prof Blog, Vox).

The Immigration Defense Project reported a 900% increase in arrests and attempted arrests at courthouses by ICE this year (Immigration Prof Blog).

CIVIL RIGHTS

An officer from the Federal Highway Safety Administration determined that a rainbow-colored crosswalk in Lexington, Kentucky, designed to honor the LGBT community, is a safety hazard and should be removed (LA Times).

Human Rights Campaign identified five federal judicial nominees who present significant threats to LGBT rights (HRC).

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Malley commented on the Pentagon’s recent approval of a gender reassignment surgery for a soldier, noting that their duty is to defend the Constitution, regardless of identity (The Hill).

DEMOCRACY 

President Trump’s attacks on CNN as “fake news” could render unconstitutional the Justice Department’s attempt to block the AT&T and Time Warner Merger, writes Michael Dorf at Justia.

After months of inactivity, the president’s commission on voter fraud exchanged emails noting the lack of prosecutions for voter fraud and suggesting the commission request a report from DOJ (HuffPo).

The DOJ inspector general will release a report this spring containing findings regarding the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server (The Hill, Politico).

JUSTICE & SAFETY     

The White House publicized its vulnerability equity process, the procedures it uses for determining which security flaws to use in surveillance and which to report to tech firms for them to fix (The Hill). 

• The Hill provides a review of the process from cybersecurity experts.

A recent drone strike in Yemen raises questions about whether the United States follows its own drone strike rules and international law, write Farea Al-Muslimi and Sarah Knuckey at Just Security.

The conference committee’s report for the National Defense Authorization Act was approved by  the House and is likely to be approved by the Senate, suggesting that it will be enacted into law as the 2018 NDAA (Lawfare).

The FBI has engaged in a dangerous crackdown on black identity extremists, argue Khaled A. Beydoun and Justin Hansford at The New York Times.

REGULATION

CFPB Director Richard Cordray announced his resignation, several months prior to the end of his term (NYT, WSJ, Politico, The Hill, Consumer Finance Monitor).

The CFPB posted a notice that the Arbitration Agreements Rule signed by President Trump on November 1 has no force or effect (Consumer Finance Monitor).

A State Department plan to cut staff is raising security and diplomacy concerns for members of both parties in Congress (WaPo).

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has become more friendly to banks under the Trump administration, rolling back regulations without Congressional approval or formal rulemaking (NYT).

CHECKS & BALANCES

The GOP’s tax plan may face difficulty in Congress after key Republican senators raised concerns about the bill (NYT, WaPo, The Hill).

Senator Diane Feinstein requested documents related to Jared Kushner’s involvement in the terminations of James Comey and Michael Flynn (The Hill).                               

Representative Adam Schiff, senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, rejected efforts to discredit the Trump dossier compiled during the 2016 presidential election, noting that its allegations of Russian interference with the election were accurate (WSJ).

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE 

Six House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump (The Hill).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE      

Trump advisers frequently cannot recall key information when questioned about Russian interference, writes Matt Zapotosky at the Washington Post.