2/9/18  //  Daily Update

On this week’s Versus Trump, Charlie Gerstein and Easha Anand discussed the Russia investigation, the Nunes memo, and whether President Trump will be interviewed by the Special Counsel. The White House has advised government agencies to prepare for a government shutdown as Congress struggles to pass a budget before the midnight deadline. ICE officials are reportedly looking into the agency joining the Intelligence Community. Buried in the White House and House Intelligence Committee’s back-and-forth over the Nunes memo is an effort by White House Counsel Don McGahn to weaken congressional oversight.

2/8/18  //  Daily Update

Russian hackers successfully penetrated voter registration systems in several states prior to the 2016 election, said Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security. A California judge ruled that a bakery can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples. Alaska is at the heart of a legal challenge aimed at getting the Supreme Court to revisit Citizens United. The Senate reached a two-year budget deal that raises spending but does not address immigration.

2/7/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump is not expected to extend a March 5th deadline for when legal protections and work permits for DACA recipients begin to expire. A Trump Administration plan to move oversight of drug prevention programs to the Justice Department is drawing protest from state and local law enforcement officials. Ten states and a coalition of environmental groups sued the Trump Administration for delaying enforcement of an EPA rule meant to protect waterways. Records suggest President Trump personally profited from Trump from America, the nonprofit presidential transition organization.

2/6/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump attacked Democratic lawmakers who did not applaud during the State of the Union, calling their behavior “Un-American” and “treasonous.” In response to Friday’s release of the Nunes memo, the House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously in favor of releasing a counter memo written by Democratic members of the Committee. President Trump’s lawyers want him to refuse an interview in the Mueller inquiry, which could set up a prolonged court fight.

2/5/18  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration released a new Nuclear Posture Review on Friday, in which it announces a need to modernize weaponry in response to Russia’s efforts, sparking a “new kind of nuclear arms race.” The Supreme Court’s decision whether to intervene in the debate over congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania could have considerable impact on the midterm elections. Increasing numbers of states and localities are resisting cooperation with federal immigration agents.

2/2/18  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration refused to sign a statement in support of an Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling on marriage equality and transgender rights. Redistricting court decisions are unlikely to have an impact on the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections, with the one big exception of Pennsylvania’s surprise state court ruling. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly zeroed in on a statement penned by President Trump and his advisors aboard Air Force One last July which sought to explain a meeting between Russians and top campaign officials during the previous summer.

2/1/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump signed an Executive Order to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison open. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is imploring the White House not to release the memo alleging FISA surveillance abuses. Two top Russian spy chiefs met with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, raising concerns among some U.S. officials.

1/31/18  //  Daily Update

For the first time, names of campaign donors will appear in the background during the livestream of President Trump’s State of the Union address. The release of the Nunes memo has the support of Speaker Ryan—with a warning that it should not be used to discredit the Mueller probe. The Department of Defense has sealed once-public information on the war in Afghanistan. There has been a recent increase in the number of arrests and detentions of immigration rights activists.

1/30/18  //  Daily Update

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe resigned, allegedly under pressure from President Trump and Attorney General Sessions. Undocumented minor immigrants are not entitled to government-provided lawyers in deportation proceedings, according to a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Monday. A secret memo on the Russia investigation prepared by House Republicans may serve as the basis to force out Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein. In 2017, Washington, D.C. lobbying activity reached its highest level since 2010.

1/29/18  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for restrictions to legal and illegal immigration and an end to sanctuary cities. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sued the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security for blocking information related to the now-defunct Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. A bipartisan group of 54 lawmakers urged the Trump administration to reinstate an Obama-era policy giving states leeway to allow for recreational marijuana. Responding to reports that President Trump considered firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, several Republican lawmakers urged the President against firing Mueller.

1/26/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump attempted to fire Special Counsel Mueller in June 2017 over his obstruction of justice probe, but refrained after White House Counsel Don McGahn threatened to quit. Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN asked a federal district court to permanently enjoin President Trump’s transgender military ban. A federal district judge in Maryland heard arguments in a case brought by several state attorneys general contending that President Trump’s business interests violate the Emoluments Clause. President Trump offered a proposal that would offer legal status for the Dreamers in exchange for a border wall and increased regulation of immigration.

1/25/18  //  Daily Update

The Justice Department threatened to subpoena documents from sanctuary cities, leading mayors to cancel meetings with President Trump. A federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration must give the ACLU notice before transferring a United States citizen who has been imprisoned in Iraq as an enemy combatant for more than four months. The Government Accountability Office will investigate alleged fraud during the comment period on the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules. President Trump announced he is “looking forward” to speaking under oath with special counsel Robert Mueller.

1/24/18  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court expedited brief deadlines in the Trump administration’s appeal of a district court decision that blocked part of the DACA repeal. Many countries remain unconvinced by President Trump’s “America First” trade policy, and are looking elsewhere to form trade agreements. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions in connection with the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

1/23/18  //  Daily Update

The House and Senate passed a three-week-long spending bill, clearing a path to end the shutdown of the federal government. House Republicans have introduced a bill that would reduce the number of legal immigrants by 38%, to the largest restriction since the 1920s. Vice President Mike Pence announced that the new embassy in Jerusalem would open in 2019.

1/22/18  //  Daily Update

Hundreds of thousands of people participated worldwide in Women’s Marches on Saturday, protesting the first year of the Trump administration and supporting women’s rights. A government shutdown began on the morning of Saturday, January 20th after the Senate blocked a continuing resolution. Twitter notified Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) that he interacted with accounts linked to Russian influence campaigns during the 2016 election. House Republicans have drafted a memo detailing alleged abuse of government surveillance during the investigation into Russian interference, but the memo is unlikely to be credible.