Natalia Veselnitskaya

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.11.19

* Divorce lawyer lays out how this Jeff Bezos divorce will go down. [VICE] * Michael Cohen is going to testify to Congress, so that's a new circus to look forward to. [CNBC] * Florida's newly passed law allowing felons to vote after they've served their sentence may have an exploitable flaw. A former Florida Supreme Court justice notes that the law requires the potential voter to satisfy their complete sentence, which might include fines or restitution payments that no one ever expects the convict to pay off. Retired Justice James E.C. Perry says that makes this "akin to a poll tax." This is why Florida can't have nice things. [ABC Action News] * For those unfamiliar with "Ag-Gag" legislation, it's a family of lobbyist concocted laws that ban environmentalists and animal rights activists from reporting on conditions in factory farms. If that sounds like a First Amendment violation to you, a federal court in Iowa agrees. [NPR] * Vegas investigators want Ronaldo's DNA in a rape case. [Fox News] * The Russian government is demanding answers to why Natalia Veselnitskaya has been charged. Not sure they realize that their agitation only suggests Mueller's right. [Reuters]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.10.17

* Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit is soon expected to publicly announce her retirement, and once she takes senior status, President Trump will have the ability to appoint another conservative judge to one of the nation's most powerful courts -- one that often serves as a training ground for future Supreme Court justices. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Shortly after his father became the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who had Kremlin ties, after he was allegedly promised damaging information about then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. For his part, Trump's eldest son has denied any Russian collusion having to do with the 2016 presidential election. [New York Times] * When it comes to the AT&T / Time Warner merger, "[t]he business community is watching intensely to see what an antitrust D.O.J. will look like in the Trump administration and how much of the rhetoric from the campaign trickles down into policy." Meanwhile, Makan Delrahim, President Trump’s nominee for antitrust chief, hasn't had his Senate hearing yet. [DealBook / New York Times] * Marc Kasowitz has moved to dismiss a sexual harassment suit filed against the president by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, claiming that thanks to the SCOTUS ruling in Bill Clinton's sexual harassment case, presidents cannot be sued in state court for personal conduct while in office. If this flies, will it give rise to more federal filings against the president? [The Hill] * "These are dedicated people doing very difficult work and not paying them is like not paying teachers, cops, social workers, or firefighters. The public should be outraged." Court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts who represent the indigent are struggling financially thanks to the state's budget woes. Some of these attorneys are owed thousands of dollars. [Boston Globe]

By Staci Zaretsky