WTF Just Happened Today

Friday, October 11, 2019

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1/ Trump lost his appeal to stop a House subpoena requiring him to turn over his tax documents to investigators. The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. upheld a lower court ruling that required Trump's longtime accountant Mazars USA to turn over eight years of Trump's personal tax returns. The judges ruled that the courts "lack the power to invalidate a duly authorized congressional subpoena merely because it might have been 'better [if]…the full House' had specifically authorized or issued it." Courts, the ruling continues, don't get a say in how each chamber conducts itself unless Congress "adopts a rule that offends the Constitution." The case is the first major dispute between Trump and the House to have reached the appeals court level – one level below the Supreme Court. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico / BuzzFeed News / CNN / CNBC / Axios / Bloomberg)

2/ A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the "public charge" rule, which would've made it easier to reject green card and visa applications from immigrants whom the government determines are or might become a financial "burden" on U.S. taxpayers. U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels in Manhattan issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the rule days before it was set to take effect on Oct. 15. Daniels said the government failed to explain why it was changing the definition of a "public charge" or why the change was needed. Daniels said the rule is "simply a new agency policy of exclusion in search of a justification," calling it "repugnant to the American Dream." (New York Times / The Hill / NPR / CBS News)

3/ A federal judge ruled that Trump's national emergency declaration to fund construction of his border wall is unlawful. U.S. District Court Judge David Briones in Texas agreed with the complainants, who argued that the declaration doesn't qualify as an "emergency" under the definition in the National Emergencies Act. They also argued that Trump overstepped his authority by issuing the declaration in order to gain access to additional funding for the wall from the military, even though his administration already received $1.375 billion in funding from Congress. Briones asked complainants to propose the scope for a preliminary injunction against the declaration. (CNN /