Tuesday | November 13, 2018
The Trump Administration has routinely circumvented the normal litigation process by repeatedly seeking Supreme Court intervention in ongoing cases with emergency petitions. The ongoing recounts in Florida and unsubstantiated Republican claims of fraud offer a terrifying preview of the next phase of the voting wars. A series of IT glitches in the VA has caused tens of thousands of veterans to have their GI Bill benefit payments delayed or go missing entirely. Top congressional Democrats are seeking answers from the Justice Department about whether Acting Attorney General Whitaker received ethics advice from career officials about whether to recuse from overseeing the Special Counsel’s investigation. The Senate Judiciary Committee has revealed incontrovertible evidence that members of the Intelligence Community illegally surveilled government whistleblowers.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Conservative author and activist Jerome Corsi says he expects to be indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the coming months (WaPo, WSJ).
IMMIGRATION
The number of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reached an all-time high of over 44,000 people, Spencer Ackerman reports in the Daily Beast.
President Trump should withdraw his recent proclamation preventing people who enter the country unlawfully outside a port of entry from seeking asylum, argues Noah Rappoport in The Hill.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Jeff Sessions’s last minute memorandum curtailing the Justice Department’s use of consent decrees may have a wide impact beyond local police reform, Ian MacDougall writes in ProPublica.
DEMOCRACY
Although the Senate is problematic, in the long run it does not systematically favor one party over another, Michael C. Dorf argues in Take Care.
The ongoing recounts in Florida and unsubstantiated Republican claims of fraud offer a terrifying preview of the next phase of the voting wars, writes Rick Hasen in Slate.
A growing number of Republican elected officials are misusing their office in egregious ways to try to tilt the electoral playing field in their favor, argues Ian Bassin in the New York Times.
- Read the complaint filed by Protect Democracy challenging Gov. Rick Scott’s authority overseeing Florida’s recount here.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s unofficial role as an adviser to the Trump campaign should disqualify him from any role overseeing the Special Counsel’s investigation, argues Ryan Goodman in Just Security
REGULATION
The Trump Administration’s actual de-regulatory impact is less impressive than it would have you believe, Stuart Shapiro argues in The Regulatory Review.
A series of IT glitches in the VA has caused tens of thousands of veterans to have their GI Bill benefit payments delayed or go missing entirely, Phil McCausland reports in NBC News.
RULE OF LAW
The Trump Administration has routinely circumvented the normal litigation process by repeatedly seeking Supreme Court intervention in ongoing cases with emergency petitions, Joshua Matz writes in Take Care and the Washington Post.
President Trump misunderstands the elemental distinction between social and political norms and his own personal preferences, Joseph Margulies argues in Verdict.
Matthew Whitaker’s stated views on various constitutional questions are stunningly extreme, writes Erwin Chemerinsky in ACSBlog.
Whitaker’s appointment as Acting Attorney General is at odds with the regulations governing the Special Counsel and Justice Department rules about who may oversee an investigation, Neal Katyal argues in the Washington Post.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has revealed incontrovertible evidence that members of the Intelligence Community illegally surveilled government whistleblowers, Patrick Eddington writes in Just Security.
CHECKS & BALANCES
Top congressional Democrats are seeking answers from the Justice Department about whether Acting Attorney General Whitaker received ethics advice from career officials about whether to recuse from overseeing the Special Counsel’s investigation, Karoun Demirjian reports in the Washington Post.
- The new Acting Attorney General should be aware he will be closely watched by the incoming House majority, writes Rep. Adam B. Schiff in the Washington Post.
Tags:
Immigration Rule of Law Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights