Derek Reinbold  //  11/22/17  //  Daily Update

According to the DHS Inspector General, federal agents violated court orders because of the confusion surrounding the rollout of the first travel ban. The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the revised “travel ban” to go into effect while the government appeals a nationwide injunction issued by a federal district judge in Hawaii. A federal court ruled that President Trump’s executive order targeting sanctuary cities is unconstitutional. A federal judge cleared the way for transgender individuals serving in the military, declaring President Trump’s transgender ban “capricious, arbitrary, and unqualified." About a dozen State Department officials have formally accused Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of violating rules regarding child soldiers. The FCC released its plan to eliminate core net neutrality rules.

IMMIGRATION

According to the DHS Inspector General, federal agents violated court orders because of the confusion surrounding the rollout of the first travel ban (WaPo).

• The Inspector General’s report is being blocked from publication by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the grounds that it contains information on the agency’s “deliberative process” (POGO) 

The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the revised “travel ban” to go into effect while the government appeals a nationwide injunction issued by a federal district judge in Hawaii (CNN, SCOTUSblog).

• The State of Hawaii has until next Tuesday to respond to the Trump administration’s request (The Hill).

A federal court ruled that President Trump’s executive order targeting sanctuary cities is unconstitutional, writes Ilya Somin for The Volokh Conspiracy.

In a systematic, but less visible way, the Trump administration is building a type of border wall through policy changes (WaPo).

Fair-minded leaders and everyday people must push back against the nativist narrative slipping into public discourse—we should protect the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, writes Albert Fox Cahn for Just Security.

CIVIL RIGHTS

A federal judge cleared the way for transgender individuals serving in the military, declaring President Trump’s transgender ban “capricious, arbitrary, and unqualified” (LyleDenLawNews).

The Justice Department is investigating Harvard over its admission policies (Boston Globe).

DEMOCRACY

The Trump administration’s voter fraud commission is on hold for the rest of the year (Politico).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

About a dozen State Department officials have formally accused Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of violating rules regarding child soldiers (Reuters).

The Trump administration has cracked the “law and order” whip, but taken a hands-off approach with law enforcement (NYTimes).

The military disclosed that partial remains of Army Sft. La David T. Johnson were found over a month after he was killed in Niger, raising further questions about the incident (WaPo).

The Trump administration designated North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism (NYTimes).

• The current list of state sponsors of terrorism suffers from the perception that it is being an enemy of the United States that matters, not whether a government truly sponsors terrorism, writes Daniel Byman for Lawfare.

The Pentagon is winding down its relief effort in Puerto Rico (WaPo).

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on a “large-scale” counterfeiting ring run out of Iran (WSJ).

REGULATION

President Trump has needlessly created reasons to look skeptically on DOJ's justified, important lawsuit to prevent AT&T and Time Warner from merging, writes Eric Citron for Take Care.

The Department of Justice will no longer assist covered entities in understanding the law, a move that reduces transparency, writes Eve Hill for Take Care.

The FCC released its plan to eliminate core net neutrality rules (NYTimes, WSJ, Ars Technica).

• The FCC will also order states to scrap their plans for net neutrality, arguing that its plans will preempt state laws to the contrary (Ars Technica).

President Trump is expected to name Mick Mulvaney, current head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (LATimes).

The Trump administration is leaning towards nominated Thomas Brunell, the author of a 2008 book title “Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections Are Bad for America,” to head the U.S. Census Bureau (Politico).

Wednesday, the CFPB will remove the agency’s final arbitration rule from the Code of Federal Regulations (Consumer Finance Monitor).

RULE OF LAW

President Donald Trump is indicating his support for Republican Roy Moore over Democrat Doug Jones, despite allegations that Alabama Senate candidate had sexual contact with teenage girls (AL.com, NYTimes, WaPo).

Will the Supreme Court kill the death penalty this term? Jordan Rubin offers analysis at Bloomberg News.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Supreme Court should strike down life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, writes the New York Times Editorial Board.

• There are not five votes to strike down life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, argues Douglas Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy.

President Trump’s new list of potential Supreme Court nominees should be seen as an unsubtle message to Justice Anthony Kennedy (The Economist).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is probing Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition (WSJ).

Former Trump adviser Carter Page conducted high-level meetings with Hungarian officials during the 2016 presidential election (ABC).

Donna Brazile, who was interim chair of the Democratic National Committee for a portion of 2016, states that Russian hackers destroyed “critical data” ahead of the election (The Hill).