Zak Lutz  //  10/3/18  //  Daily Update

The White House authorized the FBI to expand the investigation into Brett Kavanaugh. The agency will finish its investigation on Wednesday. President Trump received approximately $413 million dollars from his father through dubious tax claims and outright fraud. On a random inspection, DHS found dismal conditions--including nooses in cell rooms--in an immigration prison. The Trump Administration will deny visas to diplomat’s same-sex partners. The renegotiated NAFTA requires any party country to notify the others of impending trade deals with China. The DOJ’s suit against Facebook attempting to remove the Messenger App’s encryption has potentially vast stakes for privacy. The Senate Intelligence Committee will not finish its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election this year.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION

The White House authorized the FBI to expand the investigation into Brett Kavanaugh (NBC).

The FBI will finish its investigation on Wednesday (NYT).

• One Kavanaugh accuser, however, has yet to hear from the FBI (Bloomberg).
• Attorneys for Dr. Ford have also not heard from the FBI and she demanded an interview (The Hill, Politico).
• The FBI is bracing for political criticisms of the investigation (WaPo).
• Senators differ on whether the report should be publicly released (WaPo).

President Trump and Senate Republicans are working to limit the FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh that they promised,  argues the Editorial Board of The Washington Post.

The FBI was weaponized against Anita Hill and requires constant attention now, argues Adam Serwer in The Atlantic.

President Trump received approximately $413 million dollars from his father through dubious tax claims and outright fraud (LAT, NYT, NYT).

IMMIGRATION

DHS’s computers lacked the capability to track separated families (NYT). 

• The report found many other failures in the “zero tolerance” policy rollout (LAT).
• The report shows that the Trump Administration was dishonest about the policy, argues Aaron Blake in the Washington Post.

On a random inspection, DHS found dismal conditions--including nooses in cell rooms--in an immigration prison (NYT, WaPo).

The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to restrict immigration power, argues Ilya Somin in Reason.

• The Commerce Clause does not give such power, argues Gabriel “Jack” Chin in Cato Unbound.
• Congress has both textual and inherent authority to regulate immigration, argues John Eastman in Cato Unbound.
• Responses from Ilya Somin in Cato’s roundtable are posted here and here.

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Trump Administration will deny visas to diplomat’s same-sex partners (Foreign Policy, WaPo).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen claimed that congressional oversight has prevented the Department from tackling “evolving threats” (The Hill). 

The Trump Administration has failed to alter international law, argues Harold Koh in Opinio Juris.

• Koh argues from a progressive perspective and reveals interesting conclusions for conservative readers, argues Sean Murphy in Opinio Juris.

President Trump’s “America First” policy left the U.S. mostly isolated at the United Nations (LAT). 

The renegotiated NAFTA requires any party country to notify the others of impending trade deals with China (Politico).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

President Trump personally order legal action to prevent Stormy Daniels from talking about an alleged sexual encounter (ElectionLawBlog, WSJ).

REGULATION

DOJ, relying on a law related to Medicare and Medicaid payments, explained a policy for cracking down on asbestos-bankruptcy fraud (Forbes, Cato).

The DOJ’s suit against Facebook attempting to remove the Messenger App’s encryption has potentially vast stakes for privacy, but the case has been kept private, argue Greg Nojeim, Eric Wenger, and Marc Zwillinger in ArsTechnica.

A rule to change Freedom of Information Acts request procedures was finalized (ConsumerFinanceMonitor). 

The SEC settled an alleged $61.5 million Ponzi scheme, requiring the man to pay about $5 million in various fees (LAT).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The Senate Intelligence Committee will not finish its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election this year (WaPo).

President Trump’s focus on Chinese interference with American elections--while ignoring Russian interference--is explainable through political demands, argues Ashley Wood in Just Security.

Tags: