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Judge Randolph D. Moss (D.D.C.) on Thursday dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit to compel disclosure of D.C. voters’ Social Security and driver’s license numbers. (Order.)
Judge Todd E. Edelman (D.C. Super. Ct.) on Thursday dismissed the Justice Department’s indictment against David Hearn, the former Olympian who the department alleged had damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The judge ordered further briefing on the department’s request for the case to be dismissed without prejudice. (Order.) (NYT.) For background, see previous Roundups.
The individuals and entities challenging the Anti-Weaponization Fund in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia filed an amended complaint Thursday. The complaint asserts that the agreement between President Trump and the Departments of Justice and Treasury to grant Trump, his family, and his businesses sweeping immunity from tax liability and audits is unlawful. (Amended Complaint.) (NYT.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
President Trump on Thursday issued a pair of new executive orders that seek to limit birthright citizenship and combat “birth tourism.” (Executive Order.) (Executive Order.) (NYT.) (WSJ.) Ilya Somin argued that one of the orders—titled “Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”—is unconstitutional. (Volokh.)
President Trump on Thursday imposed tariffs on imports of polysilicon, an essential component of semiconductors and solar panels. (Proclamation.) (NYT.)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday that she will oppose Todd Blanche’s confirmation to be attorney general. (Statement.) (Politico.)
Andy Wright and Tara Ganapathy argued that the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Navarro, which upheld Trump aide Peter Navarro’s conviction for contempt of Congress, “significantly raises the stakes surrounding both the assertion of executive privilege, and decisions regarding compliance with congressional subpoenas.” (Just Security.)
Bob Bauer argued that President Trump’s “self-enrichment requires attention not only for its head-snapping brazenness, but as a defining feature of a particular model for presidential governance: what I have characterized previously as the ‘business model.’” (Executive Functions.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Trump v. California: The government filed an application on July 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3, arguing that a stay “would allow the federal government to rush out an unprecedented, legally indefensible voter-verification and ballot-interception program.” The government filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the states rest their challenge on “speculation about what impact the Executive Order would have if it were ultimately implemented in violation of federal law.”
Alabama v. California: Twelve states filed an application on July 29 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3. The twelve states filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the executive order “imposes zero obligations on the States or public.”