Morning Docket: 07.15.19
* President Trump had a hell of weekend on Twitter, where he implied that Democractic Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley -- all women of color -- weren't American citizens and told them to "go back" to their home countries. [CNN] * Federal prosecutors have now accused Jeffrey Epstein of witness tampering, alleging that the sex-trafficking defendant paid out six figures to buy the silence of those who could testify against him. [New York Times] * Speaking of people related to Alex Acosta's resignation as labor chief, Patrick Pizzella, formerly of K&L Gates legacy firm Preston Gates Ellis, an associate of Jack Abramoff who notably wasn't charged and convicted of corruption, has been named as acting labor secretary. [Big Law Business] * The D.C. Circuit didn't really seem all that receptive to Trump's attempts to block Congress from subpoenaing records from one of his accounting firms. Picture Judge Patricia Millett asking this with a raised brow: "When it comes to a president’s conflict of interest, there’s nothing Congress can do ... to protect the people of the United States?" [Washington Post] * How did Justice Clarence Thomas go from being a "Black Panther type" in law school to being the Supreme Court's "conservative beacon"? [NPR] * According to Citi Private Bank, law firm leaders are feeling a little less confident about the second half of the year, but no one is expecting a recession just yet. In fact, they seem downright "optimistic" about the rest of 2019. Yay! [American Lawyer]
