8/8/18  //  Daily Update

Asylum seekers filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and others for recent policy changes that restrict asylum claims based on domestic or gang violence. Kris Kobach used flawed research to defend President Trump's voter fraud panel. Two former Trump campaign aides have set up a new foreign lobbying firm, and their first client is a Russian-backed Serbian nationalist political party. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai acknowledged that he had falsely claimed that a cyberattack targeted the agency’s public comment system during the net neutrality repeal debate, but blamed the falsehood on the Obama administration. A draft Inspector General report states that the administrator of the General Service Administration misled Congress about the White House’s involvement in a decision to cancel the construction of a new headquarters for the FBI.

8/7/18  //  Daily Update

At former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s trial, Rick Gates testified that he and Manafort knowingly committed crimes. Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicated that he would move forward with efforts to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, even though a judge ruled this week that it must be restored. The Trump administration restored sanctions on Iran that had previously been rescinded as part of the now-revoked nuclear agreement. Prominent Trump campaign donors are supporting a legal defense fund for Trump aides. Jelena McWilliams, President Trump’s recently confirmed nominee to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, will roll back rules adopted after the 2008 financial crisis.

8/6/18  //  Daily Update

In a tweet, President Trump acknowledged that the purpose of the June 9, 2016 meeting between Trump campaign staff and Russians was to gather information on Hillary Clinton. A federal judge upheld a previous ruling that DACA must be restarted, pointing to the Trump administration’s failure to offer a “rational explanation” for ending it. Sworn statements in a class-action lawsuit against a migrant detention center in Virginia allege a pattern of abuse at the facility. President Trump’s hateful rhetoric toward the press may incite violence against them. The United States and Mexico are nearing agreement on revisions to NAFTA. U.S. SOS Mike Pompeo said the United States will fully enforce Iranian sanctions scheduled to go into effect on Monday.

8/3/18  //  Daily Update

The ACLU and two other organizations have filed a lawsuit alleging that immigrants in detention centers are being denied basic food, health care, and religious freedom, in violation of their constitutional rights. A major Trump donor agreed to pay Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, ten million dollars if he secured funding for the donor’s nuclear-power project. White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, refused to disavow President Trump’s statements claiming that journalists are “the enemy of the people.” The EPA is proposing a new regulation that would freeze current emissions requirements until 2025. National security officials are taking the Russian threat to U.S. elections seriously and vow to protect the 2018 elections in language that contrasts to the President's less decisive words on the subject.

8/2/18  //  Daily Update

On Twitter, the President called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to immediately conclude the special counsel investigation into Russian interference. The trial of Paul Manafort for bank and tax fraud is continuing with witnesses for the prosecution discussing Manafort’s spending on luxury goods. Special counsel Robert Mueller is offering to limit questions for President Trump in order to get an interview with him. The Trump Administration is contemplating significantly reducing for a second time the number of refugees to be resettled in the United States. A new Defense Department plan advises the Trump Administration to reduce the number of American troops in Africa. President Trump asked the Treasury Department to investigate lowering the capital gains tax, despite the fact that the Department has no authority to lower the tax.

8/1/18  //  Daily Update

Paul Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud began on Tuesday. President Trump’s defense that “collusion is not a crime” obscures that federal conspiracy statutes and other criminal charges may be possible after Mueller’s investigation. Migrant children reunified with their parents are experiencing mental health issues related to their forced separation. U.S. intelligence agencies are concluding that North Korea has resumed construction of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States. A federal court temporarily blocked the implementation of a State Department settlement that would allow individuals to publish 3-D printing schematics for homemade guns online. The Department of Homeland Security is forming a cyber hub with the goal of protecting American infrastructure from cyberattacks. Facebook announced that an influence campaign, similar to those used by Russian hackers in the 2016 election, has been discovered on its platform.

7/31/18  //  Daily Update

A recent court filing in the case against Paul Manafort alleges that the former adviser to President Trump earned $60 million through his work for Ukraine. A new class action challenges President Trump’s travel ban for failing to provide the case-by-case waivers promised in the proclamation. The State Department’s policy toward diplomats and international organization employees in America is a “stealth attack” on same-sex couples. Despite President Trump’s suggestion that he would meet with Iranian leaders, spokespeople for Iran have rejected future engagement. The Trump administration is considering use of its regulatory powers to essentially grant a $100 billion tax cut to the wealthy by allowing taxpayers to account for inflation in determining capital gains liabilities.

7/30/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump said he didn’t know in advance about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Donald Trump, Jr. Newly obtained police reports and call logs suggest numerous cases of abuse and “inappropriate relationships” at migrant youth shelters. Under a program called “Quiet Skies” that began in March, the TSA has been deploying air marshals to monitor ordinary citizens that raise concerns due to foreign travel or other activities. President Trump has repeatedly sought to ban reporters from covering official events for allegedly “disrespectful behavior and impertinent questions.” According to Taliban officials, U.S. diplomats met with Taliban representatives in Qatar without Afghan government officials present, a reversal of longstanding policy. The head of the civil rights division of the Department of Education will focus on students persecuted for their religious beliefs. The potential for 3-d printed guns has raised fears regarding a spike in gun violence.

7/27/18  //  Daily Update

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into President Trump’s tweets to determine whether personal attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former FBI Director James Comey offer evidence in the obstruction-of-justice investigation. The Trump Organization’s finance chief has been called to testify before a federal grand jury in the Michael Cohen probe. The government is struggling to meet the court-ordered deadline to reunify families separated as a result of the administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. A lawsuit challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census and claiming the Trump Administration is discriminating against immigrants will go forward. U.S. and Europe outline deal to ease trade feud. The District of Maryland rules that an Emoluments lawsuit against President Trump can proceed. Jeff Sessions and Paul Ryan oppose impeachment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

7/26/18  //  Daily Update

A federal court ruled that the "Emoluments Clause" case against President Trump can proceed. In federal court, the Trump administration revealed it intended to deport families immediately upon reunifying them. The White House announced that it will stop publishing summaries of President Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders, bringing an end to a longstanding practice of both Republican and Democratic administrations. The Trump administration said it would resume billions of dollars expected by insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under an Affordable Care Act program. During President Trump’s first year in office, the amount of penalties imposed on corporations that broke the law or violated regulations dropped, in the majority of cases, by more than 50 percent.

7/25/18  //  Daily Update

A tape was leaked featuring a conversation between President Trump and his former attorney, Michael Cohen, involving efforts to purchase the rights to the story of a woman who allegedly had an affair with President Trump. The Trump Administration may have deported more than 450 migrant parents without their children. Federal labor mediators have advised the Education Department that its new work rules most likely illegally curtail workers’ protections and access to union representation. Ivanka Trump shut down her eponymous clothing brand after extensive criticism of the business’s potential to produce conflicts of interest. The Trump administration announced plans to use a Department of Agriculture program to provide $12 billion in aid to farmers who have suffered losses as a result of newly imposed tariffs.

7/24/18  //  Daily Update

The President's legal team has offered Special Counsel Robert Mueller an opportunity to interview President Trump about potential collusion with Russia during the campaign, but not obstruction of justice. Twelve audio recordings seized from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s office were turned over to federal prosecutors after President Trump’s legal team waived attorney-client privilege with respect to the recordings. The Department of Education is expected to announce new regulations that would expand the ability of employers to pay disabled employees below the minimum wage. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that the Trump administration was considering stripping security clearance from several former national security officials who have criticized the administration. Senate Democrats requested documents from the Department of the Treasury on financial ties between Maria Butina, who was recently indicted on charges of serving as an unregistered agent of Russia, and the NRA.

7/23/18  //  Daily Update

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Justice released the heavily redacted Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court application to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Materials seized from the office of Trump attorney Michael Cohen include a secret recording, made prior to the 2016 election, of President Trump discussing payments related to Playboy model Karen McDougal, with whom he allegedly had an affair. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats denies criticism of President Trump over the news that President Putin is to be invited to Washington. In a Friday morning TV interview, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports. The Trump administration has proposed changes to Medicare regulations that would adjust compensation for doctors’ visits.

7/20/18  //  Daily Update

A federal judge ordered the pretrial detention of alleged Russian covert agent Maria Butina. The Trump administration announced new guidance for asylum officers, instructing them to scrutinize applications according to stricter standards and to weigh claims of fear against whether applicants have previously entered the country illegally. The White House withdrew the nomination of Ryan W. Bounds to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after he faced intense opposition for past writings about multiculturalism and race. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be targeting U.S. officials who worked on Russian sanctions, including former U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul. European and Asian countries are taking affirmative steps to protect the global trade institutions and relationships the Trump Administration appears ready to abandon. In voting unanimously against the Sinclair/Tribune merger, the FCC blocked Sinclair Broadcast Group’s attempts to create a market share which would give the company access to nearly 75% of American households with a television.

7/19/18  //  Daily Update

At a news conference, President Trump walked back comments he made which contradicted the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. Sikh Indian asylum seekers have reported that their turbans were taken away in a federal prison in Oregon. The Ninth Circuit denied the Trump administration’s motion to stay the preliminary injunction that prevents the implementation of a plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services. Secret Service documents received through FOIA requests revealed that taxpayers spent nearly $250,000 for two overseas trips by Eric and Donald Trump Jr. in which they visited Trump family businesses. New York City and State filed lawsuits over the DOJ public safety grants that require sanctuary cities to work with ICE.