Executive Privilege

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.14.17

* Several people were reportedly shot this morning at a GOP baseball practice, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is now in stable condition. The gunman is in custody. We may have more on this later today. [The Hill] * The Supreme Court has granted Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall more time to file papers in order to respond to the recent Ninth Circuit decision upholding a lower court decision which blocked President Donald Trump's travel ban. This means that any action taken by the high court on the administration's emergency pleas for certiorari will be even further delayed. [Reuters] * "I am protecting the right of the president to assert [executive privilege] if he chooses." Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed to have no desire to speak about his interactions or conversations with President Donald Trump regarding James Comey's handling of the Russia probe during his Senate hearing yesterday, and didn't feel the need to provide a real legal basis for his refusal to answer questions on the topic either. [New York Times; Washington Post] * In the meantime, even though rumors have been swirling about President Donald Trump's supposed desire to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says he has no reason to fire Mueller at this time: "If there were good cause, I would consider it. If there were not good cause, it wouldn't matter to me what anybody says." [Law360 (sub. req.)] * Marc Kasowitz may have taken a "career-defining" role representing the "predisent," but one wonders what will happen to his law firm while he pursues this ambitious undertaking. Kasowitz Benson could suffer when it comes to recruiting new talent to the firm thanks to its leader's choice of clientele, not to mention the fact that its revenue has been on the decline. [Am Law Daily] * In an effort to fight the "historic drug epidemic" that in no way involves marijuana, AG Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to roll back the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prohibits the DOJ from using federal funds to prosecute states that have instituted their own laws authorizing the "use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana." [Washington Post] * Herma Hill Kay, the first female dean of Berkeley Law, RIP. [The Recorder]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.05.17

* The Supreme Court has a few options when it comes to President Trump's travel ban. The justices can grant or deny certiorari to hear the case, or grant or deny a stay on lower court rulings blocking various aspects of the ban. Either way, this case could become moot before it's ever heard. [New York Times] * Meanwhile, the man who's the worst client in the universe lashed out at Justice Department lawyers this morning in a series of Tweets, demanding that the travel ban be referred to as a travel ban instead of the "watered down, politically correct version they submitted to [SCOTUS]." Congrats on undermining your case! [New York Times] * Get your popcorn ready, because according to two senior administration officials, President Trump will reportedly not be invoking executive privilege to block former FBI director James Comey from testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week in the ongoing Russia probe. [The Hill] * During a speaking engagement at Harvard, the Supreme Court's freshman, Justice Neil Gorsuch, recounted the time he met Sandy, the dean of Oxford's naked sex doll, who was dressed in only a boa. Although she could be counted on for answers, Gorsuch said she didn't provide him with any. [Washington Post] * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will soon be the star of her very own fitness book. Co-authored by her longtime trainer Bryant Johnson and illustrator Patrick Welsh, "The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong ... and You Can Too!" (affiliate link) will be out the first week of October Term 2017. [Associated Press] * Womble Carlyle is entering into a transatlantic merger with British firm Bond Dickinson to become Womble Bond Dickinson. The combined firm will have about 1,080 lawyers across 23 offices, with revenues exceeding $410 million. A spokesperson claims the tie-up will not result in layoffs. [News & Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky