Jacob Miller, Jacqueline Sahlberg  //  11/2/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump called on Congress to end the Diversity Visa Lottery program. Following the Trump administration’s decision to roll back the birth control mandate, Notre Dame has ended contraceptive coverage. The Trump administration said that it considers the suspected NYC attacker an “enemy combatant” and would consider sending him to Guantánamo Bay. Rep Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) announced that a group of house democrats plan to file new impeachment charges against President Trump before Thanksgiving and are currently consulting with constitutional scholars.

IMMIGRATION

President Trump called on Congress to end the Diversity Visa Lottery program, the program that enabled the alleged NY attacker to enter the country in 2010 (NYTimes, WaPo, CNN, Politico).

The ACLU filed suit against the Trump administration, arguing that the administration violated statutes and the Constitution in detaining a 10-year old immigrant with cerebral palsy (NYTimes, DisabilityScoop).

• Read the complaint here.

The Justice Department announced that the Trump administration needs to double the number of immigration judges in order to handle the caseload (Washington Examiner).

• Read the report here.

Adding Uzbekistan to the travel ban would further demonstrate that Trump administration’s list of banned countries is not based on objective criteria, writes David Bier at the Cato Institute.

Google, Microsoft, and other tech companies are joining the lawsuit against the Trump administration over the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (Reuters).

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Supreme Court should reject the argument that the First Amendment gives commercial businesses a right to discriminate, writes David Gans for Take Care.

The Trump administration’s complicity claims in the Jane Doe abortion case were properly rejected, and the Supreme Court should reject similar claims in Masterpiece Cakeshop, writes Michael Dorf for Verdict.

Following the Trump administration’s decision to roll back the birth control mandate, Notre Dame ends contraceptive coverage (South Bend Tribune, LA Times).

• Students and employees have filed suit against the Trump Administration (South Bend Tribune).
• Read the complaint here.

DEMOCRACY

The Sixth Circuit granted Trump’s appeal of the denial to dismiss the complaint alleging that candidate Trump incited violence against rally protesters in Kentucky (Politico).

• Read the decision here.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The Trump administration said that it considers the suspected NYC attacker an “enemy combatant” and would consider sending him to Guantánamo Bay (Politico, Hill, LA Times).

• The suspect has been charged in federal court (Reuters).
• Sending the alleged attacker to Gitmo may not be lawful (Atlantic).
• The National Security Law Podcast discusses some of the legal consequences of the attack.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony from the Trump administration on a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (Lawfare).

• Congress is asserting its power to remind the Trump administration that the President’s war powers are limited, writes Paul Kawika Martin for The Hill.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’s filings with the Office of Government Ethics raise questions about potential conflicts of interest with China (CREW).  

REGULATION

The Trump administration is planning to reconsider a ban on mining for uranium in the Grand Canyon put in place during the Obama administration (The Hill).

President Trump says congressional Republicans should include changes to the Affordable Care Act in their upcoming tax bill, specifically asking for repeal of the individual mandate (WaPo).

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is abandoning traditional transparency at the EPA, eroding trust in the institution, and as a result putting long-term public health at risk, writes William D. Ruckelshaus for the Washington Post.

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Rep Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) announced that a group of house democrats plan to file new impeachment charges against President Trump before Thanksgiving and are currently consulting with constitutional scholars (The Hill).

MUELLER INVESTIGATION & RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The pardon power could allow President Trump to interfere with Mueller’s investigation in ways that are difficult to check beyond public backlash, writes Michael C. Dorf for Take Care.  

President Trump tells New York Times reporters he is “not angry at anybody” and insists the indictment of Manafort has nothing to do with his administration (NYTimes).

• President Trump is resisting pressure from Bannon to fight Mueller (WaPo).

Judge asks for motions to change bail conditions for Manafort and Gates after prosecution filings argue they are flight risks (Politico).

Mueller’s investigation will not be able to explain Russia’s intentions in meddling in the United States election, writes Ivan Krastev for the New York Times.

The Manafort and Gates indictments do not add any public evidence of criminal conspiracy with Russia, but do show poor judgment from President Trump, writes Marc Thiessen at the Washington Post.

Senators press social media companies on what actions could be taken to prevent Russian interference in elections (The Hill).

Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Mark Warner (D-VA) offer differing perspectives on Russia’s role in the 2016 election during a hearing with executives of Google, Facebook, and Twitter (NYTimes)

Collusion itself is not a crime, but Mueller’s first indictments indicate some higher up members of the Trump Administration may be charged with conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (WaPo).