my new cover art for @DerSPIEGEL magazine pic.twitter.com/Lz4KH8ySGx
— Edel Rodriguez (@edelstudio) February 3, 2017
Immigration ban & Constitutional crisis
Yet another federal judge ordered a halt to the immigration ban, and this time DHS says it will immediately revert to pre-ban procedures and reinstate the 100,000 visas that were revoked.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it has suspended all actions to implement the immigration order and will resume standard inspections of travelers as it did prior to the signing of the travel ban.
Also, a State Department official tells CNN the department has reversed the cancellation of visas that were provisionally revoked following the President’s executive order last week — so long as those visas were not stamped or marked as canceled.
Predictably, Trump threw a tantrum on Twitter after the announcement
The Texas governor has stripped $1.5m in criminal justice grants from Austin, whose county sheriff campaigned on a promise to make it a sanctuary city
This week, Travis County stopped honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests—which ask local police to hold individuals suspected of violating immigration law until they can be picked up by federal agents—unless those people had been charged with murder, aggravated sexual assault, or human smuggling. Under Hernandez’s predecessor, Greg Hamilton, the city had the nation’s third-highest rate for deportations initiated under Secure Communities, a defunct federal program that President Donald Trump reinstated last week.
The Texas GOP couldn’t cut Hernandez off at the pass, but it’s bearing down on her now. On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared sanctuary cities an “emergency item,” which allows lawmakers to vote on the issue during the first 60 days of the 140-day session. On Wednesday, Abbott responded to Hernandez’s move by cutting about $1.5 million in criminal justice grants to the county, which fund drug-diversion programs, family-violence therapy, and juvenile justice programs. On Thursday, in front of a raucous crowd at the state capitol, lawmakers began debate on a bill to force Austin to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The The San Francisco Police Department has cut ties with the FBI’ Joint Terrorism Task Force rather than participate in surveillance of Muslims
Trump
The Yemen raid did not undergo the usual vetting process. Trump was not present in the situation room when it was carried out.
The Trump administration is going to let financial advisers go back to ripping you off. The AARP (!) issued a statement calling the reversal of the fiduciary rule harmful to its members.
Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills
The Uruguayan trip shows how the government is unavoidably entangled with the Trump company as a result of the president’s refusal to divest his ownership stake. In this case, government agencies are forced to pay to support business operations that ultimately help to enrich the president himself. Though the Trumps have pledged a division of business and government, they will nevertheless depend on the publicly funded protection granted to the first family as they travel the globe promoting their brand.
Furthermore, the trust into which Trump placed his assets in no way resolves his conflicts of interest:
While the president says he has walked away from the day-to-day operations of his business, two people close to him are the named trustees and have broad legal authority over his assets: his eldest son, Donald Jr., and Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer. Mr. Trump, who will receive reports on any profit, or loss, on his company as a whole, can revoke their authority at any time.
What’s more, the purpose of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is to hold assets for the “exclusive benefit” of the president. This trust remains under Mr. Trump’s Social Security number, at least as far as federal taxes are concerned.
…
“I don’t see how this in the slightest bit avoids a conflict of interest,” said Frederick J. Tansill, a trust and estates lawyer from Virginia who examined the documents at the request of The New York Times. “First it is revocable at any time, and it is his son and his chief financial officer who are running it.”
https://twitter.com/alyssabereznak/status/827543923719561216
Trump aides hold ‘Kumbaya meeting’ with reporters
Russian tech exec sues Buzzfeed for publishing unverified Trump dossier
Cabinet & Federal Appointees
As a student, President Trump’s Supreme Court pick expressed contempt for protesters, praised right wing militias, and supported apartheid in South Africa.
Congress
https://twitter.com/govtrack/status/827562154320609286
Good News
The last 3 days have been busiest in Capitol switchboard history
Some admirable wit has started a website for The Bowling Green Massacre Victims Fund. All the donation links lead to the ACLU.
If you liked Sarah Pinsker’s Twitter thread of all 100 senators and their opinions on the immigration ban, you’ll love @WriteTF, which has done every single representative. Respect. Here’s their thread for Texas.
The 12-Year-Old Yemeni Girl Who Was Stranded in Djibouti Is About to Become a U.S. Citizen
The Iranian baby who was halted on her way to the US for heart surgery is being allowed in
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