5/15/18  //  Daily Update

As the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers killed dozens of Palestinians demonstrating the embassy’s move. Justice Department prosecutions under the Foreign Agents Registration act signal that the Administration is using an expanded interpretation of the law. The White House intervened to prevent the release of an EPA study into the safety of drinking water. The Trump administration’s proposed use of emergency powers under various federal statutes to support the coal industry may set a precedent benefiting renewable energy producers under future administrations. Millions accepted a fake news story about a Supreme Court ruling on Sharia law, demonstrating the speed and danger of fake news on the internet.

5/14/18  //  Daily Update

The United States is prepared to impose sanctions on European companies if they don’t stop dealing with Iran. The Senate Intelligence Committee has invited James Comey and three former top intelligence officials to a closed-door hearing as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. DACA opponents have brought a new lawsuit targeting those already protected by the program. The Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era guidance protecting the safety of trans prisoners ignores medical expertise and defies common sense. The Education Department is unwinding a special team that had investigated abuses by for-profit colleges, including schools where top hires of education secretary Betsy Devos had worked. There is a growing national movement empowering formerly incarcerated people to vote if they are eligible and pushing to restore their rights if they are not.

5/11/18  //  Daily Update

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moved to loosen regulations that restrict religious colleges and universities from receiving federal aid. AT&T paid Michael Cohen to provide advice on the Time Warner merger. Following news of the Novartis and AT&T payments, Public Citizen sent a complaint to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether Michael Cohen violated lobbying laws. The appeal of net neutrality rules will take effect on June 11. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released copies of 3,500 Facebooks ads purchased by a Russian firm with Kremlin ties.

5/10/18  //  Daily Update

The Treasury Department’s Inspector General is investigating whether the information about the allegation of a payment from Victor Vekselberg to Michael Cohen was leaked. The Department of Homeland Security has drafted regulations that would change the rules, and erode protections, for minors in immigration detention. President Trump suggested revoking press credentials over “negative” coverage. Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is folding the student loan unit into the office of Financial Education. The Russian company Concord Management and Consulting LLC entered a not-guilty plea in the Mueller prosecution.

5/9/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump pulls out of nuclear deal with Iran and reinstates economic sanctions. U.S. Embassy cables reveal that the Trump administration ignored warnings from senior diplomats that expelling immigrants with temporary protected status would cause destabilization and increase illegal immigration. The Michigan Legislature’s proposed Medicaid work requirements discriminate against black urban residents in violation of federal civil rights law. A firm tied to a Russian oligarch and several other firms with business before the Trump administration made payments totaling more than $1 million to the same company used by Michael Cohen to pay Stormy Daniels.

5/8/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump attacks Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, says “there is no” obstruction of justice: “[I]t’s called fighting back.” The Trump Administration is implementing a “zero tolerance” policy on migrants trying to enter the United States illegally, who will now be sent to detention centers awaiting trial while their children are separated from them and taken into custody. A set of travel documents show EPA officials taking “extreme” measures to insulate Scott Pruitt from the public eye. President Trump says he will have an announcement on the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday. An increase in impeachment talk has made it more difficult to use the power against presidents whose actions merit it.

5/7/18  //  Daily Update

The Solicitor General made an erroneous factual representation to the Supreme Court during travel ban oral argument. Gina Haspel, nominated to head the CIA, sought to withdraw her nomination over questions about her role in the agency’s torture program. President Trump, speaking to the NRA, suggested that civilians with guns would have stopped the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. The French government and survivors of the attacks condemned the remarks. President Trump’s legal team has taken a combative tone with special counsel prosecutors, which is likely to further delay the outcome of the probe. The rise of a permanent impeachment campaign over the past two decades has made it much harder to impeach a corrupt president, even when we may truly need to do so.

5/4/18  //  Daily Update

Statements by Rudy Giuliani saying that President Trump paid back the $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen to Stephanie Clifford created a stir, both because they contradicted earlier statements and because they may implicate the President in campaign finance violations. The Second Circuit ruled that plaintiffs who were placed on the federal “no-fly list” because they refused to become FBI informants may sue federal officials in their individual capacities under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. Some out-of-use official U.S. government twitter accounts have been taken over by other groups -- including Russian “trolls” -- despite the twitter handles appearing in the U.S. Digital Registry. FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly received a warning from the Office of Special Counsel for violating federal law by advocating for the reelection of President Donald Trump.

5/3/18  //  Daily Update

In the latest shake-up of the Trump legal team, Ty Cobb announced he is stepping down and the White House announced that white-collar defense attorney Emmet Flood has joined the legal team. U.S. Customs and Border Protection formally requested assistance from the Pentagon to secure the US-Mexico border, asking for almost 2,100 of the 4,000 troops that were authorized for the mission. The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc in a challenge to Montana’s campaign-finance regulations, potentially setting the case up for Supreme Court review. Special Counsel Robert Mueller requested that sentencing of former national security adviser Michael Flynn be delayed by at least two month.

5/2/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump responded to oral argument in Hawaii v. Trump by explicitly stating that he does not apologize for his campaign statements calling for a “Muslim Ban.” The Trump administration proposes making disability a “heavily weighted negative" factor in determining whether to grant an immigrant a visa or permanent residency. A list of questions that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference, would like to ask President Trump was obtained by The New York Times. Seventeen states are suing to challenge the EPA’s decision to ease car-emission regulations.

4/27/18  //  Daily Update

Michael Cohen will invoke his Fifth Amendment right in a lawsuit filed against the president by Stephanie Clifford. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hawaii v. Trump, the challenge to President Trump’s third “Travel Ban.” The justices grappled with questions like whether the proclamation was too broad, whether the president had the authority to issue the proclamation, and whether President Trump’s anti-Muslim statements should impact interpretation of the order. The Department of Health and Human Services told members of Congress that it has lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with sponsors in the United States, raising concerns they could end up in the hands of human traffickers or be used as laborers by people posing as relatives.

4/24/18  //  Daily Update

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral argument in litigation challenging the Trump Administration’s “Muslim ban,” the Department of Homeland Security is moving ahead with plans to establish a National Vetting Center that is supposed to establish tighter restrictions on screening foreigners. The Department of Education has shut down dozens of investigations into complaints of racial discrimination in school discipline. Thousands of Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria have had to repeatedly face deadlines that would cut off federal assistance in providing temporary housing. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee signaled its approval of Mike Pompeo’s nomination as Secretary of State, following a late intervention by President Trump.

4/23/18  //  Daily Update

The Democratic National Committee sued the Russian government, Russian government entities, the Trump campaign, Wikileaks, and Trump campaign officials alleging a conspiracy to hack DNC servers and release information during the 2016 election. Attorney General Jeff Sessions told White House Counsel Don McGahn that he would consider resigning if President Trump fired Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.The Trump administration will pivot its teen pregnancy prevention funding efforts toward abstinence-based programs and away from comprehensive sexual education. The CIA’s campaign for controversial deputy director Gina Haspel to be confirmed as its director is atypically public and political. The future of the Iran nuclear deal will be central to meetings between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Trump next week.

4/20/18  //  Daily Update

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he intends to restore voting rights to felons on parole, a move that could open the ballot box to more than 35,000 people. The White House cybersecurity team is undergoing a major shuffle that former officials say could jeopardize the administration’s efforts to develop policy and punish hackers. Congressional Republicans want to impose "net neutrality" rules that allow Internet service providers to charge online services and websites for priority access to consumers, analogizing paid priority to TSA Precheck. Just four months after giving $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, House Republicans recently unveiled a farm bill that would dismantle the nation’s main source of nutrition assistance for struggling workers and families. Congress will hold hearings to debate America’s role in the Yemeni civil conflict, which has led to one of the world's most dire humanitarian crises.

4/19/18  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration is attempting to transfer an unlawfully detained American citizen from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. Anticipating that President Trump may pardon close associates, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman asked the New York legislature to give his office increased power to pursue state charges against individuals given federal pardons. The American Constitution Society, a liberal legal group, sent an open letter to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group with strong ties to the Trump administration, to stand together against efforts to interfere with investigations into the administration. Karen McDougal, a former model, settled a lawsuit with the parent company of the National Enquirer over a nondisclosure agreement that prevented her from discussing an alleged affair with President Trump.