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The D.C. Circuit on Friday denied rehearing en banc of a panel decision granting mandamus relief, leaving in place the ruling that set aside Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C.)’s probable-cause finding in the contempt proceedings over alleged violations of his temporary restraining order in the Alien Enemies Act deportation case. (Order.) See a previous Roundup for background. Bill Shipley wrote that despite the denial, Judge Boasberg can still restart contempt proceedings since the mandamus order only vacated his earlier probable-cause ruling. (Shipwreckedcrew.) Chris Geidner similarly noted that “Friday’s ruling has the effect of sending the matter back to Boasberg.” (Law Dork.)
Judge William Fitzpatrick (E.D. Va.) on Monday ordered full disclosure of grand jury materials to James Comey, writing that “the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.” The court found that Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan appeared to make two “fundamental misstatements of the law” to the grand jury that may have tainted the process. (Memorandum Opinion.)
Halligan and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday submitted written statements addressing concerns raised by Judge Cameron Currie (E.D. Va.) that grand jury records from the indictment of James Comey were “missing.” (Politico.) (Informative Notice.) Halligan stated that a two-hour gap in the transcript reflected the grand jury’s private deliberation time. (Declaration.) Bondi reaffirmed that she ratified Halligan’s actions relating to the indictment. (Ratification.)
Judge Rita F. Lin (N.D. Cal.) on Friday granted a preliminary injunction that bars the administration from “refusing to grant, non-renewing, withholding, freezing, suspending, terminating, conditioning, or otherwise restricting use of federal funds, or threatening to do so, to the University of California.” (Order.) (Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction.) (NYT.)
An Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser concluded that the Defense Department may loan attorneys, including military lawyers, to the Justice Department as temporary immigration judges or assistant prosecutors, and that doing so does not violate the Posse Comitatus Act. (Memorandum Opinion.)
In an apparent reversal, President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening that “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files.” (WSJ.) (Truth Social.) Bob Bauer analyzed the move, arguing that plenty of options remain at Trump’s disposal should he wish to prevent the Justice Department from disclosing the records in dispute—and that the preservation of these records is a real question. (Executive Functions.)
A classified OLC memorandum justifying the administration’s drug-boat strikes cites fentanyl’s potential as a chemical-weapons threat, though a Justice Department spokesperson stated the opinion doesn’t rely on that argument. (WSJ.) The U.S. military on Saturday conducted another strike in the Pacific, killing three alleged traffickers. (NYT.)
Federal immigration agents arrested 81 people in the Charlotte, North Carolina area on Saturday as the Department of Homeland Security announced it is “surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte.” (WSJ.)
The Defense Department is reportedly withdrawing hundreds of out-of-state National Guard troops that were sent to Portland and Chicago in early October but never deployed due to ongoing legal challenges. (NYT.)
President Trump on Friday exempted a broad set of common agricultural goods from the “reciprocal tariffs” he announced on April 2. (Executive Order.) (WaPo.)
Ilya Somin contended that “there is no remotely defensible justification” for the Trump administration’s recently announced refugee policy, arguing that it “is just a form of blatant racial and ethnic discrimination.” (Volokh Conspiracy.)
The New York Times Editorial Board argued that President Trump has overstepped his authority in repeatedly ignoring legislation on spending, warning that Republicans should consider the precedent set by such abuses. (NYT.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Blanche v. Perlmutter: The government filed an emergency application on October 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court interlocutory injunction that temporarily reinstated Shira Perlmutter to her role as Register of Copyrights while litigation over her removal continues. Chief Justice Roberts formally set a deadline of November 10 for a response to the application. Perlmutter submitted a response on November 10. Blanche submitted a reply on November 12.
Trump v. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10.