Don McGahn

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.29.18

* Trump's now claiming that Stormy Daniels is impinging on his right to free speech because weaponizing that right's worked so well so far, why not extend it to this? [NBC] * In the same breath, we're now talking about censoring Google to "own the libs." [Recorder] * And the First Amendment now protects sharing food with homeless people, because apparently we needed a rule to cover being a decent human being. * Don McGahn may be on the way out after spilling the beans to Mueller. Trump insists on Twitted that McGahn is not a "rat" like John Dean, but just as this whole administration is "Nixon, but dumber" McGahn probably didn't realize what he was doing while he did it. [Business Insider] * People are up in arms over Lanny Davis being an anonymous source for CNN, but really what was CNN supposed to do? They couldn't say, "Davis refused to comment on the record" because that would prove he was the anonymous source. It's where dumb journalism rules hang people up because the right answer would be to make no mention at all of Davis, but journos feel they have to indicate that they tried to talk to principal figures in any given story. Anyway, Glenn Greenwald has thoughts on this and he used to be a real journalist before he went batshit crazy. [GQ] * California ends money bail! California, man. They're ahead on everything. Getting rid of bail, legal weed, regretting Reagan.... [Washington Post] * One of the actions Trump is "most proud of" is one he never accomplished. Sounds about right. [Axios] * Vermont changes its laws in bid to become a blockchain hub because it's all about bad ideas. [VT Digger]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.26.18

* Jane Genova explores the implications of Jones Day's representation of the embattled Cardinal Donald Wuerl, former bishop of Pittsburgh. [Law and More] * Why did President Trump (or his personal lawyers) allow White House Counsel Don McGahn to speak so freely to special counsel Robert Mueller? Here are some thoughts from veteran litigator Joel Cohen. [The Hill] * As I recently discussed with Judge Jeffrey Sutton, Chevron-style deference to administrative agencies is being reconsidered in a number of states -- and you can add Ohio to that list, as Eugene Volokh notes. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Charles Glasser calls out the Washington Post for its selective invocation of the value of transparency. [Daily Caller] * If you're an ambitious law student or lawyer, then you need to watch your words on social media, as this report from Patrick Gregory makes clear. [Big Law Business] * The justices will consider more than 1,000 certiorari petitions at the "long conference" on September 24 -- and Adam Feldman identifies some of the standouts. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Speaking of SCOTUS, if you'll be in or near New Haven this coming Wednesday, please join me and Linda Greenhouse for a wide-ranging discussion of President Trump's transformation of the federal judiciary. [Yale Federalist Society] * The World Bank launches the world’s first BONDI, or "blockchain operated new debt instrument," with an assist from King & Wood Mallesons. [Artificial Lawyer]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.20.18

* It turns out that Don McGahn, the White House counsel, has been cooperating "extensively" with Robert Mueller's obstruction investigation. He's apparently been sharing "detailed accounts" for his own legal security because he thought President Trump might be trying to set him as the fall guy. [New York Times] * Judge T.S. Ellis says that he's received threats while overseeing Paul Manafort's trial and that he is now under the protection of U.S. Marshals. He's refused to release the names of the jurors out of a genuine concern for their safety. [USA Today] * Federal prosecutors are reportedly preparing charges related to bank and tax fraud for Michael Cohen. He allegedly misrepresented his assets to obtain loans and failed to properly report income from his taxi medallions. Yikes! [CNN] * Speaking of Cohen, Bracewell partner Barbara Jones has concluded her privilege review of the more than 3.2 million documents seized from Michael Cohen, and found that about 7,150 were actually privileged -- a fraction of what was taken, and a fraction of what Cohen's legal team claimed was privileged. [New York Law Journal] * "I will regret every day of my life, the day I met Martin Shkreli." Despite his lawyers' request for no jail time, Evan Greebel, the former Biglaw partner who once worked with the pharma bro, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. [American Lawyer] * Esperanza Franco, a 2015 graduate of Penn Law's LL.M. program and 2017 graduate of Arizona's J.D. program, has been defending immigrants from deportation, but she may soon face deportation herself thanks to a series of visa errors. You can donate here to help her stay in the country. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.23.18

* Because there is never a moment without drama in this administration, AG Jeff Sessions has told White House counsel Don McGahn that he's probably going to have to quit if President Trump fires Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. [Washington Post] * Meanwhile, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short says the president "has no intention of firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller." Hmm... we'll just wait right here until those firings don't happen. *insert Jeopardy music here* [CBS News] * "[T]here is no human being, on the planet, with more knowledge about federal criminal law than Michael Dreeben, and no one with more expertise than him." Meet Michael Dreeben, special counsel Robert Mueller's Supreme Court closer. He's argued more than 100 SCOTUS cases, and is a force to be reckoned with. [ABC News] * Hiring for the law school class of 2017 is "up," with 75.3 percent of graduates employed in full-time, long-term jobs that require law degrees or are considered “JD advantage” positions -- but you probably shouldn't get too excited about that. The only reason the percentage of those employed is higher this year is because the class was 6 percent smaller. In reality, entry-level hiring has decreased. [ABA Journal] * Which Biglaw firm did Wells Fargo turn to ahead of being hit with record fines that turned into a $1B settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency? That would be Sullivan & Cromwell, which "always [tries] to play absolutely straight with the regulators." [American Lawyer] * Riley Safer, a spinoff of Schiff Hardin, just elected its first managing partner, and she may be the first black woman to lead a national law firm. Congratulations to Patricia Brown Holmes as she leads the legal profession in the future. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.09.18

* Will Chief Justice John Roberts be asked to testify before Congress for his role as the appointer of judges for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court? According to House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), it could happen, even though they "don’t know the correct way to proceed because of the separation of powers issue." [National Law Journal] * Quinn Emanuel's Bill Burck is representing two Trump administration rejects (Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus) and a current major player in the Trump administration (Don McGahn), all at the same time. The discussion about whether there's any conflict of interest here between Burck's triple-play is pretty interesting. [American Lawyer] * Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua, who are both currently waiting to stand trial for the murder of Florida State Law Professor Dan Markel, are now facing some additional charges. The pair now face counts of conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder. We wonder when either of them will take a plea. [Tallahassee Democrat] * In case you missed it, in a world first, Bermuda will be abolishing same-sex marriage, after legalizing same-sex marriage just one year ago. Same-sex marriages will now be referred to as domestic partnerships, conferring all the same rights that married couples have, but without the legal title. [Washington Post] * Do you know this man? For years and years, this man's portrait has been hanging outside the chief justice's chambers at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, but no one has any idea who he is. Help name this mystery justice and win a prize! [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky