Daily Update | October 23, 2019
Kyle Skinner // 10/23/19 //
Trump refers to the impeachment inquiry as a "lynching" while the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine delivers damning testimony. The President's now-aborted decision to host the G-7 at his resort gets cited in an Emoluments Clause brief. And the Ninth Circuit upholds the operation of the No-Fly List with respect to four plaintiffs who claimed it violates their due process rights.
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY
Yesterday morning, Trump referred to the impeachment inquiry as a “lynching” (Politico).
The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine testified yesterday before three House committees (WaPo).
- You can find his opening statement at Lawfare.
In a House Judiciary Hearing, representatives of the FBI, DHS, and Election Assistance Commission all stated opposition to Trump asking foreign allies to investigate his political opponents (The Hill).
New reporting shows Trump’s ideas of Ukraine as a corrupt country flowed from conversations with Putin and Hungary’s Orban (WaPo).
INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION
Nearly 200 lawmakers signed onto a brief citing the President's plans to host G-7 at one of his resorts in a case about the Emoluments Clause (The Hill).
An appeals court has tossed Roger Stone’s request to be freed from a gag order so that he can post on social media (The Hill).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has recused himself from making a big-money contract decision becuase his son works at one of the companies bidding (WaPo).
DEMOCRACY
Consistent with prior reasoning, the Supreme Court threw out a case about gerrymandering in Michigan (Election Law Blog).
Meanwhile, a federal court has sent a NC gerrymandering case back to state court (Election Law Blog).
Facebook has found and removed at least four state-backed misinformation campaigns (Election Law Blog).
A donor to the Trump inauguration (and to Dems over the years) fund agrees to plead guilty for years of lobbying, tax, and campaign finance crimes (WaPo, Election Law Blog).
The Senate blocked two more election security bills yesterday (The Hill).
CIVIL RIGHTS
An appeals court has ruled that the government can continue to use secret criteria to determine who is on the no-fly list (The Hill).