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The Ninth Circuit has administratively stayed its Oct. 20 order allowing members of the Oregon Guard to be deployed to Portland, preserving a district court’s Oct. 4 temporary restraining order through 5 p.m. on Tuesday while en banc proceedings continue. (Order.) See a previous Roundup for background. Bill Shipley examined the Ninth Circuit’s administrative stay and possible en banc review. (Shipwreckedcrew.)
The Justice Department on Friday filed a notice of appeal to the Seventh Circuit from Judge Lindsay Jenkins’s (N.D. Ill.) dismissal of its suit challenging Illinois’s sanctuary policies. (Notice of appeal.) See a previous Roundup for background.
During a hearing on Friday, lawyers for the D.C. attorney general’s office asked a district judge to halt President Trump’s deployment of out-of-state National Guard troops in the nation’s capital, arguing they are carrying out prohibited law-enforcement functions, while the administration defended broad presidential authority over the Guard. (WaPo.)
New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty to charges of mortgage fraud in Norfolk federal court on Friday, with a trial date set for Jan. 26. (WSJ.) In the same proceeding, the presiding judge ordered that James’s anticipated motion to disqualify Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan be consolidated with a similar motion by former FBI Director James Comey before a single outside‐district judge. (National Review.)
A watchdog group warned the Justice Department and National Archives that Halligan’s use of disappearing Signal messages in communications related to the James case may violate the Federal Records Act. (Lawfare.)
The New York Times identified Timothy Mellon as the anonymous private donor who gave $130 million to help pay military salaries during the shutdown, raising legal questions under the Antideficiency Act. (NYT.)
The Justice Department will deploy federal observers to polling places in six counties in California and New Jersey ahead of the Nov. 4 election, following requests from the states’ Republican committees. (WaPo.)
A Washington Post analysis found that major law firms have represented plaintiffs in 15 percent of cases challenging Trump executive orders this year—down from roughly 75 percent in his first term. (WaPo.)
Charlie Savage reported that while the White House has publicly offered no substantive legal rationale for Trump’s strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) “has produced a memo apparently blessing the campaign.” (NYT.) Jack Goldsmith explained how the classified OLC memo authorizing the Venezuelan boat strikes functions as a “golden shield,” effectively granting immunity to officials who rely on it. (Executive Functions).
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserted that left-wing extremists are driving a surge in violence against federal officers and urged stronger federal intervention in cities like Portland, Chicago, and D.C. (WSJ.)
Bobby Kogan argued that Trump illegally used leftover Pentagon R&D funds to pay troops during the shutdown, violating the Appropriations Clause, the Antideficiency Act, and the “purpose” statute (31 U.S.C. § 1301). (Lawfare.)
Paul Mirengoff argued that Trump’s $230 million damages claim against the Justice Department could become a true scandal if the department does not handle it impartially, while the president’s plan to build a large White House ballroom is mostly a matter of optics. (Ringside at the Reckoning.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
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.
Trump v. Orr: The government filed an emergency application on September 19 requesting the Supreme Court to stay an injunction issued by a district court that requires the State Department to allow transgender and nonbinary people to choose the sex designation on their passports. Justice Jackson formally set a deadline of October 4 for a response to the application. Orr submitted a response on October 6, and President Trump filed a reply on October 7.