Matthew Lunny Duffy  //  11/21/18  //  Daily Update

A federal judge has blocked the Trump Administration from denying asylum claims. Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, and the federal government’s Female Genital Mutilation statute were both struck down as unconstitutional. A federal court ruled that cable companies do not have a First Amendment right to discriminate against minority-run TV channels.  A Ninth Circuit panel held that Los Angeles residents did not adequately show race was the main factor in the last round of redistricting. House Democrats intend to investigate the Department of Justice’s decision not to defend Obamacare. Democrats seek to block acting Attorney General Whitaker from exercising the powers of head of the Justice Department.The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has warned of a potential Russian cyberattack, as attackers suspected of working for the Russian government infected dozens of organizations posing as a US State Department official.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION 

Ivanka Trump apparently used personal email for official White House business (NYT, WaPo)

• House Dems have signaled there intention to investigate Ivanka’s email use come February (Hill, WaPo, NYT)
• Trump calls the Ivanka’s email scandal “fake news,” reports Jordan Fabian at the Hill.

IMMIGRATION

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from denying asylum claims (CNN, WaPo, NYT)

It has cost $80 million dollars to reunite migrant children separated by the Trump Administration with their families, a figure that continues to grow, writes Caitlin Dickerson at the New York Times.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban was blocked and ruled unconstitutional (AP, Hill, NYT)

• Read the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi here

A federal court found the federal Female Genital Mutilation statute unconstitutional because such regulation is beyond the authority of Congress, reports Aris Folley in the Hill

A US appeals court ruled that cable companies do not have a First Amendment right to discriminate against minority-run TV channels, writes Jon Brodkin in Ars Technica.

Supreme Court will assess whether land once set apart for Native Americans as reservations retains its reservation status in Carpenter v. Murphy, writes Ronald Mann at SCOTUSBlog.        

• The Atlantic has an in-depth discussion of the history behind the case here.

DEMOCRACY

Elections like the 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia deserve to bear the stigma of illegitimacy, even if they are legal, says Adam Serwer at the Atlantic.

A Ninth Circuit panel held that Los Angeles residents did not adequately show race was the main factor in the last round of redistricting, writes Martin Macias Jr. in Courthouse News Service.

REGULATION

House Democrats intend to use their investigatory powers to target the Department of Justice’s decision not to defend Obamacare, reports David Morgan at Reuters.

The Supreme Court will decide whether Apple is violating federal antitrust laws by requiring people buy apps only from Apple’s App Store, at inflated prices in Apple Inc. v. Pepper, reports Amy Howe at SCOTUSBlog.

RULE OF LAW

President Trump hoped to compel the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director Comey and Secretary Hillary Clinton, reports Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times.

The Supreme Court's decision to grant review in a fast-tracked motion for the Department of Justice in the census case is "very strange," and may undermine judicial legitimacy, writes Tierney Sneed at Talking Points Memo.

Democrats have asked a Federal Court to block acting Attorney General Whitaker from exercising the powers of head of the Justice Department (NYT)

• The Washington Post reports here that a secretive conservative group paid acting Attorney General Whitaker $1.2 million dollars from 2014 to 2017
• Charlie Dunlap offers a qualified defense of Matthew Whitaker at LawFare here

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine is warning members of the international community of a potential Russian cyberattack, writes Sean Gallager in Ars Technica.

Attackers suspected of working for the Russian government masqueraded as a US State Department official to infect dozens of organizations, reports Dan Goodin in Ars Technica.

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