Daily Update | October 31, 2018
Karen Kadish // 10/31/18 //
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested an FBI investigation after it was discovered that a company offered to pay women to make allegations against him. The DOJ has unsealed an indictment of Chinese intelligence officers for the hacking of aerospace information and technology from American companies. Advocacy groups urge President Trump to appoint a head for the Bureau of Prisons. The Interior Department’s oversight organization has referred an investigation into a possible conflict of interests by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department. Mr. Zinke is the subject of at least eighteen federal investigations into ethical or policy violations. President Trump has proposed an executive order that would end birthright citizenship.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators are looking into comments made in 2016 by longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone. The comments were warnings that WikiLeaks was going to release information that would impact the 2016 election, write Drew FitzGerald and Shelby Holliday at The Wall Street Journal.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested an FBI investigation after it was discovered that a company offered to pay women to make allegations against him (The Atlantic; WaPo).
IMMIGRATION
The number of U.S. troops being deployed to the Mexican border will likely surpass the 5,239 cited by officials, according to Air Force General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy. The 5,239 number is the initial request from the Department of Homeland Security, not a maximum number, reports Nancy A. Youssef at The Wall Street Journal.
Amid alarmist statements about the migrant caravan approaching the United States from central America, it is important to understand that the caravan likely does not include many criminals compared to the incarceration rate of native-born Americans, writes Alex Nowrasten at Cato.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Department of Justice concluded a two-day Law Enforcement Roundtable on improving the identification and reporting of hate crimes (Religion Clause).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The DOJ has unsealed an indictment of Chinese intelligence officers for the hacking of aerospace information and technology from American companies, writes Matthew Kahn at Lawfare.
Advocacy groups urge President Trump to appoint a head for the Bureau of Prisons (Sentencing Law and Policy).
In the wake of rising tensions with Saudi Arabia and Yemen, it is informative to look back at the history of the U.S.-Yemen relationship and the impact of Saudia Arabia on that relationship, writes Bruce Reidel at Lawfare.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Interior Department’s oversight organization has referred an investigation into a possible conflict of interests by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department. Mr. Zinke is the subject of at least eighteen federal investigations into ethical or policy violations (NYT).
RULE OF LAW
President Trump has proposed an executive order that would end birthright citizenship (Immigration Prof Blog; WaPo; NYT).
- President Trump revealed this information in an interview with Axios. (Available here).
- The influence of the White House Counsel’s office is in question because of this aggressive constitutional and legal position, writes Bob Bauer at Lawfare.
- The consensus of the legal community is that this Executive Order would be either unconstitutional or violate federal statutes. (Dorf on Law; Balkinization; ACLU)
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Civil Rights Justice & Safety