Nicandro Iannacci, Jacob Miller  //  11/19/18  //  Daily Update

In an interview, President Trump said that he was not likely to sit for an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. A typo in newly unsealed court documents indicates that the DOJ is indeed planning to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The CIA concluded that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued new regulations to govern campus sexual assault cases, which will now face notice and comment. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a discovery dispute in the litigation over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. In the wake of its loss against Jim Acosta and CNN, the White House is drafting new rules for reporter behavior, with threats to return to court if they are violated.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

CNN’s recent court victory against President Trump rests largely on due process, but in the fight to protect press freedom, we should also emphasize the substance of the First Amendment, writes Victoria Baranetsky for Take Care.

In an interview, President Trump said that he was not likely to sit for an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller (NYT, WSJ).

• However, the president said he has finished writing answers to questions from Special Counsel Mueller (WaPo, WSJ).

President Trump also said he wouldn’t stop Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker from interfering with the Mueller investigation (Politico). 

Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos asked a court to delay his prison sentence until a constitutional challenge to the Mueller investigation is resolved (WaPo, Politico).

House Democrats plan to step up investigations into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia (WSJ).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued new regulations to govern campus sexual assault cases, which will now face notice and comment (NYT, WaPo, LAT).

• The proposed rule can be found here.
• Critics say the rule will limit civil rights protections and ultimately harm survivors of sexual assault (ACLU, HRC).

DEMOCRACY

Any federal voting rights reform should shift legal burdens from voters to the states, but it will need to be carefully designed to survive Supreme Court scrutiny, writes Lisa Manheim for Take Care in a partnership with Election Law Blog.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a discovery dispute in the litigation over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census (WaPo, LAT, Bloomberg, AP).

• The court order is here.

In the wake of its loss against Jim Acosta and CNN, the White House is drafting new rules for reporter behavior, with threats to return to court if they are violated (Politico).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

A typo in newly unsealed court documents indicates that the DOJ is indeed planning to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (NYT, WaPo, Politico, Ars Technica).

• The typo was discovered by a self-proclaimed “court records nerd” (NPR).
• It was a surprising error by an assistant U.S. attorney (WaPo).
• The DOJ’s move is raising concerns about press freedom (NYT, WaPo).
• As more details emerge, Lawfare explains what to look for.

The CIA concluded that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

• President Trump said a full report will be released by Tuesday (WaPo, WSJ).
• The president also said that he won’t listen to the “suffering tape,” an audio recording of the Khashoggi killing, and that he doesn’t know if the Saudi prince is lying (WaPo, Politico).
• A top White House official handling Saudi policy resigned on Friday, suggesting internal administration divisions over the proper response to the incident (NYT).

Top administration officials are concerned that President Trump does not fully understand or appreciate his role as commander-in-chief (NYT).

• The president attacked retired Admiral William McRaven, accusing him of Democratic sympathies and of not finding Osama bin Laden fast enough (WaPo).

President Trump signed a bill making DHS the main agency responsible for civilian cybersecurity issues (The Hill).

REGULATION

The Trump administration has continued to allow employers to deny birth control as part of insurance coverage, but said that women who did not receive contraception would be eligible for the family planning program under Title X of the Public Health Service Act (NYTimes).

RULE OF LAW

The Supreme Court will hear a case of whether or not the Trump administration can ask residents about their citizenship on the 2020 census (LATimes).

There are other reasons to be concerned about the appointment of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, including whether or not he can approve FISA applications, writes David Kris for Lawfare.

The GOP has damaged rule of law by joining President Trump’s baseless voter fraud allegations, writes Erica Frantz for the Washington Post.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Russians indicted for hacking the Democratic National Convention have asserted a complicated defense of immunity, with wide ranging implications, writes Ingrid Wuerth for Lawfare.

Russian hackers may be trying to influence the United States by impersonating State Department employees (Hill).

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