Ian Eppler  //  9/17/18  //  Daily Update

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing Special Counsel investigation. Many immigrant parents who were separated from their children at the border are being denied reunification because of minor misdemeanor offenses from decades ago. The attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland are seeking discovery on President Trump’s communications with foreign and state governments regarding his Washington, DC hotel, after a federal district judge denied a motion to dismiss a suit contending that President Trump’s ownership of the hotel violates the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution. The Trump administration will announce $200 billion of new tariffs on Chinese products, further escalating tensions over trade. National Security Advisor John Bolton’s criticism of the International Criminal Court does not serve the interests of the United States.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice in federal district court in Washington, DC and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing Special Counsel investigation (Lawfare, Politico, WaPo, WSJ).

• The plea agreement is available here.
• Manafort’s guilty plea is a key moment in the investigation, write Matt Zapotosky, Carol D. Leonnig, and Ashley Parker in the Washington Post.
• The guilty plea demonstrates a recent increase in enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, notes David Laufman at Lawfare.
• Douglas Berman analyzes the guilty plea from a federal sentencing perspective.
• The structure of the plea deal likely reduces the impact of a potential pardon by President Trump, writes Josh Gerstein at Politico.
• The plea agreement likely means that Manafort can offer information on President Trump, contends Randall Eliason in the Washington Post.
• President Trump cannot constitutionally pardon Paul Manafort, argue Justin Florence and Paul Rosenzweig in the Washington Post.
• Federal prosecutors in New York are considering criminal charges against President Obama’s White House Counsel Greg Craig and the law firm Skadden over their roles in Manafort’s illegal lobbying (CNN).

An advocacy group filed a petition in federal district court in Washington, DC seeking disclosure of the “road map” report transmitted by the grand jury investigating President Richard Nixon to the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, contending that the “road map” is a vital precedent for assessing the actions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller (Lawfare, NYTimes, The Hill).

• The petition is available here.

IMMIGRATION 

Many immigrant parents who were separated from their children at the border are being denied reunification because of minor misdemeanor offenses from decades ago, reports Miriam Jordan in the New York Times. 

President Trump’s proposal to revise immigration policies that promote family reunification would pose a particular burden for Asian-American families, write Miriam Jordan and Sabrina Tavernise in the New York Times.

The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies are the functional equivalent of his promised wall, argues Lauren Gilbert in The Hill. 

President Trump’s proposed border wall threatens the environment of the border region, note Astrid Dominguez and Chris Rickerd at the ACLU Blog.

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

National Security Advisor John Bolton’s criticism of the International Criminal Court does not serve the interests of the United States, contends Jane Stromseth at Just Security.

• Bolton’s criticism of the ICC may ultimately bolster its credibility, argues Thierry Cruvellier in the New York Times.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland are seeking discovery on President Trump’s communications with foreign and state governments regarding his Washington, DC hotel, after a federal district judge denied a motion to dismiss a suit contending that President Trump’s ownership of the hotel violates the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution (NPR).

REGULATION

The Trump administration will announce $200 billion of new tariffs on Chinese products, further escalating tensions over trade (Politico, WSJ).

Michigan is seeking a federal waiver to impose a work requirement on Medicaid beneficiaries after the Trump administration signaled its intent to approve such waivers, reports Alexandra Slessarev at Bill of Health.

RULE OF LAW 

Brock Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is under investigation for misuse of government cars (Politico).

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