White House Counsel

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.01.20

* A lawsuit says it is unfair patrons can't dine indoors in New York City, but can feast indoors in other New York counties. This lawsuit is important, since NYC has many good restaurants, including some people's favorite New York pizza joint... [New York Post] * A federal appeals court has ruled that former White House Counsel Don McGahn does not need to testify before a congressional committee. [Yahoo News] * A class action in New York has been filed by wedding venues questioning the state's 50-person limit on events in light of the fact that large protests were permitted. [Times Union] * A federal judge had some harsh words for the Kentucky Bar for making a lawyer jump through hoops to be licensed because she had bipolar disorder. [Bloomberg Law] * McDonald's has called its former CEO "morally bankrupt" for attempting to dismiss a lawsuit stemming from alleged sexual misconduct by the former leader. [Eater]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.09.19

* According to an eight-page letter from White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, the White House will not cooperate in the impeachment inquiry because not only does it violate “the Constitution, the rule of law, and every past precedent,” but it also “lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation" and is merely an effort to "nullify the outcome of the democratic process" by negating the 2016 election and influencing the 2020 election. Well then! [Washington Post] * In case you missed it, here’s what made a federal judge say, “Wow.” In an effort to keep redacted portions of the Mueller report from Congress, representatives from the DOJ essentially argued that a decision to release the Watergate grand jury evidence was “wrongly decided.” [Slate] * Despite having been dragged into the DLA Piper sexual assault controversy, Kamala Harris has a lot of Biglaw support, and the newly formed National Lawyers Council for Kamala is hoping to raise at least $100,000 by the end of the month to help her campaign for the presidency. [American Lawyer] * An investigation is currently underway at Yale Law School, where late this past weekend, anti-Semitic graffiti -- a swastika with the word “Trump” next to it -- was found on the steps to a side entrance to the school. [NBC Connecticut] * Sign up here if you'd like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.). I'll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.15.18

* When you're better known for your love of beer than your love of anything else, here's the TMZ headline you get after feeding those in need: "JUSTICE KAVANAUGH SERVING MEALS TO HOMELESS ... Hold the Beer, Please." [TMZ] * And in other Kavanaugh news, a group of witches will be holding a ritualistic event to hex the newly confirmed justice. Their goal is "to make Kavanaugh suffer," and they plan to cast a spell and use effigies, coffin nails, and graveyard dirt to get the job done. [USA Today] * President Trump defended his mockery of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, saying in his 60 Minutes interview that "if I had not made that speech, we would not have won." When reminded that he was being a disgusting human being, he brushed it off, saying, "I'm not going to get into it, because we won. It doesn't matter. We won." [NBC News] * Per President Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is “the greatest leader in history” because he's so awesome at pushing through conservative federal judges with lifetime appointments. "Keep sending them our way, and we’ll keep changing the court system forever," McConnell said. Brooooo. [New York Times] * How do we know Pat Cipollone is the next White House counsel? "I haven’t named the new White House counsel, but over a short period of time. Pat’s a great guy. I don’t want to say, but he’s a great guy. He’s a very talented and he’s a very good man, but I don’t want to say.” You've already said enough, Mr. President. [Washington Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.12.18

* Law schools in North and South Carolina have canceled classes for the foreseeable future so that students, faculty, and staff can evacuate the area and hunker down before Hurricane Florence arrives. Please be careful and stay safe, everyone. [Law.com] * President Trump is eager to choose Emmet Flood to succeed Don McGahn as the next White House counsel. Ty Cobb, one of Trump's former lawyers, is in Flood's camp because he's "battled investigations from the White House before—[and] that’s what will be coming." [Wall Street Journal] * Earlier this week, Bob Woodward said that former Trump attorney John Dowd told the president he couldn't testify in the Russia investigation because he's "disabled" and "can't tell the truth." That sounds just about right. [People] * The University of California Berkeley School of Law may soon be doing away with almost all references to John Henry Boalt thanks to his racist views. Public comment on the issue will close on Halloween, and then Dean Erwin Chemerinsky may formally apply to dename Boalt Hall. Let's see what happens with this one. [ABA Journal] * "This is clear interference with an ongoing criminal investigation." Representatives from the New York state tax department reportedly met with Michael Cohen's attorney yesterday over the objections of Southern District of New York. [CNN] * A family of conspiracy theorists: Donald Trump Jr. says he's not worried about going to jail as a result of Robert Mueller's Russia probe, but "[t]hat doesn't mean they won't try to create something" that could put him in jail. [USA Today]

By Staci Zaretsky