Lark Turner  //  10/2/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration is working hard to reauthorize FISA. The VA is trying to repeal an ethics rule preventing its employees from owning stakes in for-profit colleges receiving hundreds of millions in G.I. Bill funds. Health and Human Services Director Tom Price has resigned over the chartered flights scandal. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee has turned its attention to whether then-FBI Director James Comey ended his investigation into Hillary Clinton too soon.

IMMIGRATION 

‘Dreamers’ push back on Democrats against proposed compromise bills that protect them but, they worry, make things worse for their parents and friends who don’t qualify (NYT).

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Trump Administration is working hard to reauthorize FISA, the surveillance law, before it sunsets in December (The Intercept).

DEMOCRACY

Trump’s intent matters when evaluating whether his attacks on the press and free speech are legally actionable, writes Michael C. Dorf for Take Care.

What you need to know about Tuesday’s argument in political gerrymandering case Gill v. Whitford (WaPo).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

On Twitter, President Trump tells his secretary of state on North Korea: “Save your energy, Rex” (NYT, WaPo).

The Trump Administration may be considering transferring an American citizen enemy combatant into Iraqi custody (Lawfare).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In the CREW emoluments litigation, the District Court should query the definition of “emoluments” and of “ownership,” write amici Josh Blackman and Seth Barrett Tillman at the Volokh Conspiracy.

The VA is trying to repeal an ethics rule preventing its employees from owning stakes in for-profit colleges receiving hundreds of millions in G.I. Bill funds (NYT).

REGULATION

Health and Human Services Director Tom Price resigns over chartered flights scandal (NYT, WaPo).

• Read his resignation letter here.

Under Trump’s proposed tax plan, tax cuts shrink over time — except for the top 1 percent of earners, who would benefit more than anyone else (NYT).

RULE OF LAW 


The Supreme Court’s willingness to rely on government versions of the facts varies, as last term’s cases demonstrate, writes Leah Litman at Take Care.

CHECKS & BALANCES 


The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee turns its attention to whether then-FBI Director James Comey ended his investigation into Hillary Clinton too soon (Lawfare).

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE 


President Trump attacks Puerto Rican mayor for “poor leadership” on Twitter, then deletes the Tweets (WaPo).

A catalogue of a week of chaos on President Trump’s Twitter (WaPo).

The Jones Act is making it harder to get supplies to Puerto Rico, and Americans’ disinterest in the Act is part of the problem, writes Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy.