Latest in Documents
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has released an opinion supporting the Treasury Department's refusal to comply with a congressional request for President Trump's tax returns. The OLC opinion can be read here and below.
On June 11, the House Armed Services Committee released its draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2020 fiscal year (H.R. 2500). The committee’s summary states that the proposed bill focuses on addressing threats to the United States by authorizing a defense system that is “inclusive, accountable, and responsible in the management of its resources.” The proposal authorizes defense spending up to $733 billion dollars.
The Department of Justice has informed the House Oversight and Reform Committee that President Trump has exerted executive privilege over certain documents subpoenaed by the committee regarding the administration's decision to include a question about U.S. citizenship in the 2020 census. The letter can be read here and below.
The Justice Department disclosed an opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) stating that it is unconstitutional for Congress to prohibit executive branch lawyers from accompanying witnesses who are current and former executive branch employees called to testify.
The legal team on behalf of President Trump and the Trump Organization has filed a brief in the case of Trump v. Mazars USA, in which Trump, in his personal capacity, is seeking to block a subpoena of his accounting firm by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The district court ruled against Trump last month and oral arguments in the U.S.
The Justice Department sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler responding to the committee’s request for further information regarding U.S. Attorney John Durham’s review of the Russia investigation. The letter is available here and below.
The Supreme Court had denied a writ of certiorari in the case of Al-Alwi v. Trump. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote separately. The denial, and Justice Breyer’s statement, can be read here and below.
On June 3, the government filed a motion to dismiss in the case of Padilla v. ICE, a lawsuit brought by detained asylum seekers regarding the Trump administration’s practice of forcibly separating children from their parents.
On June 11, the House of Representatives will consider a resolution to enable committee chairs to seek judicial enforcement of subpoenas with only the approval of a panel of House leadership, rather than the vote of the full House, Politico reports. The draft resolution specifically names Attorney General Bill Barr and White House counsel Don McGahn, but is not constrained to subpoenas directed toward them.
On Monday, Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the House of Representatives lacked standing to sue executive branch departments to prevent them from spending money to build a border wall. The full ruling is below.