Update | Week of October 30, 2017
President Trump’s efforts to deflect attention from the Mueller investigation by calling for criminal investigations into his political opponents threatens the rule of law, writes Eli Savit at Take Care.
A military judge will consider President Trump’s comments as mitigating evidence in sentencing Bowe Bergdahl (NYT, WaPo).
- The order rejecting the defendant’s motion to dismiss can be read here.
- Bergdahl appeared on the witness stand to describe his ordeal, reports the Washington Post.
Prosecutors will seek a contempt hearing for three civilian attorneys who resigned over a classified ethical conflict from representing a Guantánamo detainee, after failing to show up in court despite a military judge’s refusal to grant permission to leave the case, reports the Miami Herald.
- David Luban examines the court rules at issue.
The President’s ability to use the pardon power to stymie an investigation is a bug, not a feature, of the Constitution, argues Michael Dorf at his eponymous blog.
Criticism of judges who block Trump administration policies as being politically motivated undermines the rule of law, argue Dahlia Lithwick and Steve Vladeck in the New York Times.