3/12/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “The pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with President Trump offered on Monday [3-12-18] to return $130,000 she received from Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer in 2016 for agreeing not to discuss the alleged relationship. In exchange, the actress, Stephanie Clifford, seeks an end to her deal to keep quiet […]

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3/12/2018

IMMIGRATION/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/WOMEN: “Women fleeing domestic violence overseas could lose the right to claim asylum in the U.S. under a review of immigration-court precedent launched by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week, people familiar with the case said. The move is one of several Mr. Sessions has made in recent weeks under his power to intervene […]

Read More… from 3/12/2018

3/11/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Sunday [3-11-18] disputed a New York Times report describing discussions it said he had had with a veteran lawyer about joining the White House to help handle matters related to the special counsel inquiry. In a pair of tweets, Mr. Trump wrote that The Times ‘purposely wrote a false […]

Read More… from 3/11/2018

3/10/2018

ETHICS/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “An ethics watchdog has filed a criminal and civil complaint over a payment by President Trump’s lawyer to an adult-film actress to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed complaints with the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics over […]

Read More… from 3/10/2018

3/9/2018

LEGAL/PRESS SECRETARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SARAH SANDERS/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump is upset with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders over her responses Wednesday [3-7-18] regarding his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, a source close to the White House tells CNN. … On Wednesday, Sanders told reporters that the arbitration was won ‘in the President’s […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/9/2018

DHS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit Friday [3-9-18] charging the Trump administration with separating immigrant parents from children as they await asylum proceedings. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of California, accuses the government of ‘forcible separation of parents from their young children for no legitimate […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/9/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to negotiate a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that uses an interview with the president as leverage to spur a conclusion to the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr. Mueller that Mr. […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/9/2018

ETHICS/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL COHEN/WOMEN: “The lawyer handling the Stormy Daniels scandal for President Donald Trump’s corporate and personal representative, Michael Cohen, comes from the same small New York law firm that earned thousands of dollars from the Trump campaign at the end of last year. Cohen’s use of a law firm connected to Trump’s […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/9/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL COHEN/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump’s personal attorney used his Trump Organization email while arranging to transfer money into an account at a Manhattan bank before he wired $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, also regularly used the same email account during 2016 negotiations with the […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/9/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SAM NUNBERG: “Former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg, who threatened earlier this week to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, showed up Friday [3-9-18] morning at the federal courthouse in Washington, where he appeared set to answer prosecutors’ questions in the ongoing probe of alleged collusion between Trump aides and […]

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3/9/2018

LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SAM NUNBERG: “Former Donald Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg, who had balked at testifying in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington on Friday [3-9-18] as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. … Nunberg had been subpoenaed by the federal […]

Read More… from 3/9/2018

3/8/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL COHEN/WOMEN: “In the blur of news coming out of Washington, the legal maneuvers involving a pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with President Trump and the president’s lawyer who paid her hush money may seem like just another reality-show-ready spectacle at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But the lawsuit she […]

Read More… from 3/8/2018

3/8/2018

ETHICS/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “There is pervasive anxiety inside the walls of the White House over the fallout around allegations leveled against President Donald Trump by porn actress Stormy Daniels, multiple sources tell CNN, with some officials worried that the salacious accusations and tangled legal fight could dwarf past controversies. The story of the pair’s alleged […]

Read More… from 3/8/2018

3/8/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT: “Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of bank fraud and tax crimes in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge TS Ellis set the trial to begin July 10. Prosecutors told said in court they planned to call 20-25 witnesses and said their arguments could […]

Read More… from 3/8/2018

3/8/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal judge on Thursday [3-8-18] expressed skepticism about whether U.S. President Donald Trump can constitutionally block Twitter users whose views he does not like from following and responding to his own Twitter account. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald asked Michael Baer, a lawyer […]

Read More… from 3/8/2018

3/8/2018

CALIFORNIA/IMMIGRATION/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/SANCTUARY CITIES: “California’s three new ‘sanctuary’ laws, challenged in court this week by the Trump administration, face different hurdles and have varying vulnerabilities, legal experts said Wednesday [3-7-18]. Law professors who read the lawsuit filed by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions generally described it as a credible challenge that presents complex legal questions that might […]

Read More… from 3/8/2018

3/7/2018

LEGAL/USDA: “The head of the United States Forest Service stepped down Wednesday [3-7-18] amid an investigation into sexual harassment accusations against him, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department said. The resignation of the agency’s chief, Tony Tooke, comes days after ‘PBS NewsHour’ reported that the Agriculture Department was investigating sexual misconduct complaints against him, including […]

Read More… from 3/7/2018

3/6/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Former adult-movie star Stephanie Clifford filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, saying his lawyer forced her to sign a false statement provided to The Wall Street Journal in response to inquiries about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Ms. Clifford $130,000 in October 2016 in […]

Read More… from 3/6/2018

3/6/2018

CALIFORNIA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/SANCTUARY CITIES: “The Trump administration escalated what had been a war of words over California’s immigration agenda, filing a lawsuit late Tuesday [3-6-18] that amounted to a pre-emptive strike against the liberal state’s so-called sanctuary laws. The Justice Department sued California; Gov. Jerry Brown; and the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, over three state […]

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3/6/2018

ETHICS/KELLYANNE CONWAY/LEGAL: “The US Office of Special Counsel announced Tuesday [3-6-18] that White House aide Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act on two occasions by ‘advocating for and against candidates’ in last year’s Alabama Senate special election. In a new report, the OSC special counsel, Henry Kerner, pointed to Conway’s TV interviews conducted in her […]

Read More… from 3/6/2018

3/6/2018

FBI/LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and ex-Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty last year to lying to FBI agents about his Russian contacts, has put his Virginia home up for sale to pay mounting legal fees, friends and family members told ABC News. Flynn’s 13-year-old, three-bedroom townhouse in Old Town […]

Read More… from 3/6/2018

3/5/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A workman wielding a crowbar pried off the silver T-R-U-M-P name from the Trump International Hotel and Tower here in Panama City on Monday [3-5-18] as the majority owner of the hotel declared victory in his fight to oust the American president’s family business as managers of the property. The president’s company, the […]

Read More… from 3/5/2018

3/5/2018

DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL: “A federal judge in Maryland on Monday [3-5-18] struck down a a challenge to President Donald Trump’s decision to end protections for undocumented immigrants, stating that while he does not agree with Trump’s move, it is not his job to set immigration policy. ‘This Court does not like the outcome of this case, […]

Read More… from 3/5/2018

3/5/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen complained to friends he had not been reimbursed for a six-figure payment to a porn star alleged to have had an affair with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday [3-5-18]. Cohen previously said in a statement that he had facilitated a payment to Stephanie Clifford, […]

Read More… from 3/5/2018

3/5/2018

BANKING/LEGAL/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The bank used by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer to wire $130,000 to a former adult-film actress flagged the transaction as suspicious and reported it to the Treasury Department, according to a person familiar with the matter. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, wired the money to a lawyer for former actress Stephanie Clifford, known […]

Read More… from 3/5/2018

3/1/2018

LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s lawyers have urged him not to discuss details of the unfolding Russia investigation with anyone outside his legal team, warning of a conversational ‘bright line’ that could put aides and associates in legal jeopardy, according to current and former Trump aides. But Trump often ignores that legal advice […]

Read More… from 3/1/2018

2/28/2018

LEGAL/NONTRUTHS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump’s longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday [2-28-18] that she was resigning. Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign without any experience in politics, became known as one of the few aides who understood his personality and style […]

Read More… from 2/28/2018

2/28/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER: “Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, will face trial in mid-September on charges of conspiring against the U.S., conspiring to launder money, and failing to register as an agent of a foreign power, a federal judge said Wednesday [2-28-18]. The Sept. 17 date was set by U.S. District Judge Amy […]

Read More… from 2/28/2018

2/28/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Wednesday [2-27-18] morning in federal court to a re-written set of charges that had been levied against him late last week. The charges in the US District Court for the District of Columbia include allegations of money laundering, conspiracy […]

Read More… from 2/28/2018

2/28/2018

JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL: “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 28, 2018 09:34am […]

Read More… from 2/28/2018

2/27/2018

INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/NONTRUTHS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday [2-27-18] that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies. But after extended consultation with her lawyers, she insisted that she had not lied about matters material […]

Read More… from 2/27/2018

2/27/2018

2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former Donald Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates is quickly discovering that cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller has its advantages. The lead Russia investigator asked a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia Tuesday [2-27-18] to dismiss a series of criminal charges against Gates, including tax and bank fraud, in exchange for his […]

Read More… from 2/27/2018

2/27/2018

IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court held Tuesday [2-27-18] that under immigration law, a certain class of non-citizens facing deportation are not required to have a bond hearing if they’ve been held in detention for more six months. The 5-3 ruling, however, avoided a judgment on whether the Constitution requires such hearings, returning that issue to […]

Read More… from 2/27/2018

2/27/2018

GUNS/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday [2-27-18] that he believes bump fire stocks can be effectively banned through regulation, teasing that an announcement from the Justice Department would be coming soon… Bump fire stocks, commonly known as bump stocks, are devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at a more rapid rate. […]

Read More… from 2/27/2018

2/27/2018

CRIME/GUNS/LEGAL: “A judge has refused to step aside from the case of Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz as requested by his lawyers. Court records show that Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer denied the request Monday [2-26-18]. Cruz’s lawyers claimed Scherer has made rulings and comments that indicate favoritism for prosecutors. They say in […]

Read More… from 2/27/2018

2/26/2018

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/LGBTQ/NEW YORK: “A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled on Monday [2-26-18] that federal civil rights law bars employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation. The case, which stemmed from the 2010 dismissal of a Long Island sky-diving instructor, was a setback for the Trump Justice Department, whose lawyers found themselves in the unusual […]

Read More… from 2/26/2018

2/26/2018

HEALTHCARE/LEGAL/OBAMACARE(ACA): “A coalition of 20 U.S. states sued the federal government on Monday [2-26-18] over Obamacare, claiming the law was no longer constitutional after the repeal last year of its requirement that people have health insurance or pay a fine. Led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the lawsuit […]

Read More… from 2/26/2018

2/26/2018

DHS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Trump administration over the government’s moves to separate some asylum-seeking immigrant parents from their children. The organization filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego on Monday [2-26-18] on behalf of a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo identified as ‘Ms. L.’ […]

Read More… from 2/26/2018

2/26/2018

EPA/LEGAL/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Environmental Protection Agency has experienced a huge surge in open records lawsuits since President Donald Trump took office, an analysis of data reviewed by POLITICO shows — a trend that comes amid mounting criticism of EPA’s secrecy about Administrator Scott Pruitt’s travels, meetings and policy decisions. The legal attacks also […]

Read More… from 2/26/2018

2/25/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s lawyers are considering ways for him to testify before special counsel Robert Mueller, provided the questions he faces are limited in scope and don’t test his recollections in ways they say could unfairly trap him into perjuring himself, a person familiar with his legal team’s thinking said. […]

Read More… from 2/25/2018

2/24/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “After weeks of rumors, it became official Friday afternoon: Rick Gates pleaded guilty to two criminal charges and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russia’s attempted meddling in the 2016 election. Gates, who served as Trump’s deputy campaign chairman for a time in 2016, became the third […]

Read More… from 2/24/2018

2/23/2018

LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A former top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign indicted by the special counsel was expected to plead guilty as soon as Friday [2-23-18] afternoon, according to two people familiar with his plea agreement, a move that signals he is cooperating with the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The […]

Read More… from 2/23/2018

2/22/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “A federal judge has rejected former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s latest effort to win release from house arrest by offering up properties aimed at fulfilling the $10 million bail the judge has set. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she would not accept Manafort’s Alexandria, Va. condominium as part of […]

Read More… from 2/22/2018

2/21/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “New charges have been filed in special counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and aide Rick Gates, but the charges were put under seal by the court, obscuring the nature and import of the development. The new charging document filed in federal court in Washington could […]

Read More… from 2/21/2018

2/20/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “An attorney who is the son-in-law of one of Russia’s richest men pleaded guilty Tuesday [2-20-18] to lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators as Mr. Mueller’s team continued to aggressively pursue its wide-ranging probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch national and a former […]

Read More… from 2/20/2018

2/16/2018

2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/FBI/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Three Russian companies and 13 Russian nationals were indicted Friday [2-16-18] on charges of engaging in a widespread effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, providing the most comprehensive official account to date of a sweeping, multimillion-dollar effort by Moscow to upend U.S. politics and set Americans against each other. The […]

Read More… from 2/16/2018

2/15/2018

2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/STEVE BANNON: “Former White House adviser Steve Bannon drew bipartisan ire on Capitol Hill Thursday [2-15-18] by refusing to answer a range of questions from the House Intelligence Committee, with lawmakers vowing to take more drastic steps to compel his testimony. Mr. Bannon, a onetime confidant of President Donald Trump who has since become […]

Read More… from 2/15/2018

2/15/2018

IMMIGRATION/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/TRAVEL BAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal appeals court on Thursday [2-15-18] ruled that President Donald Trump’s third attempt at a travel ban is likely unconstitutional, writing that it ‘continues to exhibit a primarily religious anti-Muslim objective.’ The US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld a lower court injunction that blocked the Trump […]

Read More… from 2/15/2018

2/14/2018

DHS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL: “The top lawyer for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Seattle has been charged with trying to steal the identities of seven people who were in immigration proceedings. The ICE chief counsel, Raphael A. Sanchez, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to […]

Read More… from 2/14/2018

2/14/2018

DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL: “Trinity Washington University, a few miles from the White House, is lining up donors to boost scholarships for about 10% of its students—immigrants who likely can’t afford tuition if they lose their permission to work in the U.S… A March 5 deadline is looming for Washington to come up with a resolution for nearly […]

Read More… from 2/14/2018

2/12/2018

EDUCATION/LEGAL/LGBTQ: “A spokeswoman for the Department of Education confirmed on Monday that the department is no longer investigating civil rights complaints from transgender students banned from using bathrooms conforming with their gender identity.The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights ‘continues to use current law and current regulation to determine if any child in school is […]

Read More… from 2/12/2018

2/13/2018

DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “A second federal judge Tuesday [2-13-18] has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that DACA participants and states are likely to succeed in their challenge that the way […]

Read More… from 2/13/2018

2/13/2018

FBI/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said his agency first flagged issues with its background check of Rob Porter to the administration in March, a timeline that conflicts with what the White House said it knew about the former aide’s past. Mr. Porter resigned last week amid accusations that he physically […]

Read More… from 2/13/2018

2/13/2018

FBI/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rob Porter was involved in serious discussions to be promoted when he abruptly resigned from the White House last week amid allegations that he abused his two ex-wives, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. His anticipated elevation further highlights how top White House officials were willing to overlook indications from the […]

Read More… from 2/13/2018

2/12/2018

HHS/LEGAL/PLANNED PARENTHOOD/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A conservative legal organization worked with the Trump administration to make it easier for states to defund Planned Parenthood, according to documents obtained by congressional Democrats and shared with POLITICO. HHS last month told states they no longer have to comply with Obama administration policy that made it difficult for states […]

Read More… from 2/12/2018

2/10/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. […]

Read More… from 2/10/2018

2/8/2018

CALIFORNIA/INTERIOR/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “California has released its battle plan in a brewing war between the White House and coastal states opposed to the Trump administration’s expansive offshore drilling ambitions. The state’s powerful land commission said on Wednesday [2-7-18] it will refuse to issue permits for infrastructure that drillers need to bring oil and gas from […]

Read More… from 2/8/2018

2/7/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “The judge assigned to the criminal case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his ex-deputy Rick Gates held a closed-door hearing Wednesday [2-7-18] on a request by three of Gates’ attorneys to quit the case. Gates and his three defense attorneys — Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack and AnneMarie McAvoy — arrived […]

Read More… from 2/7/2018

2/6/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A federal court approved a $25 million settlement on Tuesday [2-6-18] with students who said they were duped by Donald Trump and his now-defunct Trump University, which promised to teach them the ‘secrets of success’ in the real estate industry. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco finalized the settlement after […]

Read More… from 2/6/2018

2/6/2018

ETHICS/HOUSE OF REPS/LEGAL: “The House of Representatives voted Tuesday [2-6-18] to overhaul its policies on sexual harassment, banning lawmakers from using taxpayer funds to pay for settlements and mandating public reporting of cases. The measures, which passed unanimously, would mark a major shift in how sexual-harassment claims are handled in the Capitol. The legislation, which […]

Read More… from 2/6/2018

2/5/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath. His lawyers are […]

Read More… from 2/5/2018

2/2/2018

LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president. While many legal experts contend that Mueller lacks the standing to bring criminal charges against Trump, at least two […]

Read More… from 2/2/2018

2/1/2018

CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s re-election campaign raised $15.2 million in the last three months of last year, and spent $1.2 million on legal fees — with much of the cash going to law firms responding to investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election — according to campaign finance reports. The reports, filed […]

Read More… from 2/1/2018

2/1/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “The law firm representing senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has hired a veteran of prior White House investigations to handle press relations for the firm’s clients. Abbe Lowell of Norton Rose Fulbright, a lawyer representing Mr. Kushner and other high-profile clients, has hired Peter Mirijanian, who has run his own public-relations […]

Read More… from 2/1/2018

2/1/2018

CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/MICK MULVANEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration has revamped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s lending-discrimination operations, an agency spokesman said Thursday, the latest step in a broad review of the bureau’s activities under its new director. The changes place the consumer-finance regulator’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity under the direct control of […]

Read More… from 2/1/2018

1/31/2018

CALIFORNIA/CRIME/LEGAL: “Thousands of people convicted of marijuana offenses in this city going back to 1975 will have their convictions dismissed or reduced, San Francisco’s district attorney announced Wednesday [1-31-18]. It marks one of the most aggressive moves to wipe away old convictions in the face of new laws legalizing marijuana in California and other states. […]

Read More… from 1/31/2018

1/31/2018

IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “President Donald Trump’s call for lawmakers to embrace what he termed a compromise proposal on immigration got a chilly reaction Wednesday [1-31-18] from both Democrats and Republicans, who are struggling to make progress in their negotiations. In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Mr. Trump highlighted the details […]

Read More… from 1/31/2018

1/31/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller is seeking to interview the former spokesman of President Donald Trump’s legal team as part of an investigation into potential collusion between Russia and Trump’s campaign to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. Mark Corallo had represented […]

Read More… from 1/31/2018

1/31/2018

HILLARY CLINTON/LEGAL: “Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, said on Tuesday [1-30-18]that she regretted protecting a former campaign adviser accused of sexual harassment on her 2008 campaign. ‘The short answer is this: If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t,’ she wrote on Facebook. The message was posted just moments before President […]

Read More… from 1/31/2018

1/30/2018

DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A Brooklyn federal judge criticized President Donald Trump’s comments about Latino immigrants as ‘vicious’ and ‘extremely volatile’ during court arguments Tuesday over whether to stop the Trump administration from rescinding protections for undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children… The plaintiffs who sued the Trump administration, including 16 states, have argued […]

Read More… from 1/30/2018

1/28/2018

GOP/LEGAL/MARCO RUBIO: “Sen. Marco Rubio said late Saturday [1-27-18] night that he had fired his chief of staff after learning a day earlier of allegations of improper conduct. The Florida Republican said he first learned Friday of allegations that his chief of staff, Clint H. Reed, had ‘violated office policies regarding proper relations between a […]

Read More… from 1/28/2018

1/25/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS: “President Donald Trump managed to defeat the first lawsuit challenging his receipt of business profits while in office, but knocking out the second case over his alleged violations of the Constitution’s emoluments clauses may not be so easy. As a daylong hearing on that second suit kicked off in a Maryland courtroom Thursday […]

Read More… from 1/25/2018

1/25/2018

LEGAL/POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Thursday [1-25-18] he wants to release the transcript of the committee’s closed-door interview with Donald Trump Jr., joining Democrats on the committee who have pressed to make it public. Grassley said he will now move to release all of the panel’s interviews involving the June […]

Read More… from 1/25/2018

1/24/2018

HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/LEGAL/MEDICARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Advocacy groups sued the Trump administration Wednesday [1-24-18] to block work requirements and other changes to Kentucky’s Medicaid program, setting up a legal battle that could help define the limits of the conservative push to revamp the program in about a dozen states. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, […]

Read More… from 1/24/2018

1/24/2018

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/SANCTUARY CITIES: “President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday [1-24-18] escalated its battle with ‘sanctuary cities’ that protect illegal immigrants from deportation, demanding documents on whether local law enforcement agencies are illegally withholding information from U.S. immigration authorities. The U.S. Justice Department said it was asking for the records from 23 jurisdictions, including America’s three […]

Read More… from 1/24/2018

1/23/2018

AFGHANISTAN/LEGAL/MILITARY: “On 5,753 occasions from 2010 to 2016, the United States military reported accusations of ‘gross human rights abuses’ by the Afghan military, including many examples of child sexual abuse. If true, American law required military aid to be cut off to the offending unit. Not once did that happen. That was among the findings […]

Read More… from 1/23/2018

1/23/2018

2016 ELECTION/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours last week by the special counsel’s office as part of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election and whether the president obstructed justice since taking office, according to a Justice Department spokeswoman. The meeting marked the first time that investigators […]

Read More… from 1/23/2018

1/23/2018

LEGAL/NET NEUTRALITY: “Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed an executive order Monday [1-22-18] requiring telecommunications companies with state contracts to follow net neutrality principles, saying Montana would continue expectations about a ‘free and open Internet’ and called on other states to follow his lead. The executive order states that Internet, data and telecommunications contractors doing business […]

Read More… from 1/23/2018

1/22/2018

ATTORNEY GENERAL/FBI/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged Monday [1-22-18] evening to fully investigate how the FBI failed to preserve five months of text messages between two high-level officials involved in the investigations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. ‘We will leave no stone unturned to confirm with certainty why these text messages are […]

Read More… from 1/22/2018

1/21/2018

FBI/GOP/HILLARY CLINTON/LEGAL/POLITICAL FIGURES: “The FBI is missing five months of text messages between two senior officials who Republicans on Capitol Hill have accused of political bias, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) revealed in a letter to the bureau made public on Sunday [1-21-18]. Republicans have been scrutinizing the text messages between senior counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok […]

Read More… from 1/21/2018

1/20/2018

HOUSE OF REPS/LEGAL/POLITICAL FIGURES: “House Speaker Paul Ryan ordered an investigation into workplace harassment allegations against a Pennsylvania Republican on Saturday and removed him from the panel that investigates and adjudicates such complaints. The New York Times on Saturday reported that Rep. Patrick Meehan used taxpayer funds to settle a case brought against him by […]

Read More… from 1/20/2018

1/19/2018

LEGAL/STEVE BANNON/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House move this week to limit Steve Bannon’s congressional testimony while permitting a current administration official to speak freely reveals how precisely it is controlling what is shared with lawmakers. The White House told Bannon not to answer questions about his time working on the presidential transition and as chief […]

Read More… from 1/19/2018

1/18/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump’s lawyer used a private Delaware company to pay a former adult-film star $130,000 in return for her agreeing to not publicly discuss an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, according to corporate records and people familiar with the matter. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, established Essential Consultants LLC, on Oct. 17, […]

Read More… from 1/18/2018

1/18/2018

LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “European lawmakers and companies worry that a lawsuit the U.S. government has brought to the Supreme Court could clash with European Union law, trapping tech companies between complying with U.S. data requests and strict EU data-privacy rules. The case, set to be heard next month, stems from a dispute between the Justice Department […]

Read More… from 1/18/2018

1/18/2018

INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday [1-18-18] voted to release the transcript of its interview with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, with Democrats and Republicans joining together in a move likely to shed new light on the opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia. The committee voted in a closed-door meeting to release the […]

Read More… from 1/18/2018

1/17/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/STEVE BANNON: “Federal agents have issued a subpoena to former presidential adviser Steve Bannon, who plans to fully cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, a person close to Mr. Bannon said. FBI agents arrived last week at Mr. Bannon’s home in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill […]

Read More… from 1/17/2018

1/16/2018

LEGAL/NAVY: “The commanders of the two U.S. guided-missile destroyers involved in collisions that killed 17 sailors in Asia last year will be court-martialed on charges including negligent homicide, the Navy said Tuesday [1-16-18]. In total, the Navy is filing criminal charges against six sailors, officials said. Another eight will face nonjudicial punishment, a Navy official […]

Read More… from 1/16/2018

1/16/2018

LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/STEVE BANNON: “Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, was subpoenaed last week by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into possible links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The move […]

Read More… from 1/16/2018

1/16/2018

CHINA/CIA/LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY: “A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested Monday [1-15-18] on charges of unlawfully retaining classified information, and U.S. officials familiar with the matter said he was suspected of providing information that helped the Chinese government identify U.S. informants in that country. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53 years old, who worked for the […]

Read More… from 1/16/2018

1/16/2018

FCC/LEGAL/NET NEUTRALITY: “State attorneys general and internet activists filed legal challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s recent rollback of Obama -era internet regulations, launching a legal battle that could go on for years. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and more than 20 other officials filed their combined petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

Read More… from 1/16/2018

1/16/2018

DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “The Justice Department on Tuesday [1-16-18] announced plans to seek direct Supreme Court review of a judge’s ruling that blocked President Donald Trump from shuttering a program that gave work permits and other protections to some people who entered the U.S. illegally as children. The administration is also appealing the ruling to […]

Read More… from 1/16/2018