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President Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision affirming the dismissal of his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and others, along with nearly $1 million in sanctions against the president and his lawyers. The petition argues that the case “concerns the improper use of sanctions to wrongly punish a President and his lawyers for defending his Article II prerogatives.” (Cert Petition.) (SCOTUSblog.)
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon (S.D.N.Y.) on Sunday temporarily barred the Trump Administration from airing its government-funded ads featuring President Trump while litigation proceeds. (Opinion & Order.) (NYT.) The Administration then missed the deadline to halt the ads. (Notice.) (Status Report.) (WaPo.) (Law Dork.) The Democratic Party of Wisconsin filed a separate challenge to the ads on Friday. (Complaint.)
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan (D.D.C.) on Friday set aside and vacated the Justice Department’s policy of attempting to gather states’ voter rolls and then urging states to remove voters the DOJ deems “ineligible.” (Mem. Op.) (WaPo.)
Judge Ana C. Reyes (D.D.C.) on Monday barred the National Park Service from removing more trees at East Potomac Golf Course until 2 p.m. Tuesday, after the administration cut down more than 400 trees over the weekend with less than a day’s notice to the court. (Minute Order.) (NYT.) (Politico.)
Judge Jesus G. Bernal (C.D. Cal.) on Friday made public a redacted order, dated Oct. 7, vacating the first Trump administration’s implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, holding that it obstructed asylum seekers’ rights to seek asylum and to counsel. (Order.)
Homeland Security Investigations agents on Monday searched the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as part of what the Justice Department called an “ongoing federal criminal investigation.” (NYT.) (WSJ.)
The Treasury Department on Friday authorized transactions involving Russian-origin diesel, “including importation into the United States,” through April, after President Trump announced that Russia had agreed to supply the fuel. (Truth Social.) (General License.) (WSJ.) Andrew McCarthy argued that the deal is a “gross abuse of power” and an “impeachable flim-flam.” (National Review.)
On Friday, President Trump announced that the Administration would create a committee to further investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Lisa Cook, who is a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Cook could remain in office while she continued to challenge Trump’s earlier decision to fire her. (Memorandum.) (WSJ.) (SCOTUSblog.)
On Friday, major TV networks were reportedly notified that the Department of Justice is investigating whether their collective suspension of pool coverage of President Trump a few weeks ago violated federal antitrust laws. (NYT.) (WaPo.)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced sanctions on the International Criminal Court that will bar transactions with the court after six months. (NYT.)
The New York Times asked eight experts with experience in election law to answer two questions: 1. Who will control Congress after this year’s midterm elections? 2. How do they predict the elections will be conducted, given efforts by the Trump Administration to control the process? (NYT.)
Jack Goldsmith chatted with Catherine Grace Katz about her latest book, Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War. (Penguin.) (EF.)
Steve Vladeck argued that “it’s not at all obvious that [the Supreme] Court would identify an Eighth Amendment problem” with the proposed live-streamed execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. (One First.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Trump v. Kingdom: The government filed an application to the Supreme Court on September 28 seeking a stay of the district court’s August 26 order barring enforcement of the Bureau of Prisons’ 2026 policy ending hormone therapy, “sex-trait-modification surgery,” and social accommodations for inmates with gender dysphoria. The respondents filed their opposition on October 8, and the government submitted its reply on October 9.
FCC v. Brown: The government filed an application to the Supreme Court on October 8 seeking a stay and immediate stay pending appeal of the Fourth Circuit’s October 7 order directing the Federal Communications Commission to issue a decision by October 9 on a challenge to its public notice that would extend favorable advertising rates for candidates for federal office to political parties and joint fundraising committees. Chief Justice Roberts on October 8 issued an administrative stay. The respondents filed their opposition on October 10, and the FCC submitted its reply on October 11.