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Judiciary faces ‘political’ task in border wall emergency declaration

The question for courts hearing challenges to President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration is not as simple as deciding whetherthe action is legal; they also must determine the extent of congressional and presidential powers, the meaning of relevant statutes and how much deference to give a president asserting executive authority.

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SCOTUS to determine when permits are necessary to pollute navigable waters

The US Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court ruling that seemingly expands the Clean Water Act. Under the 9th Circuit’s decision, any pollutant found in navigable water that is “fairly traceable” to a permittable discharge source is subject to permitting requirements, even if the source of the pollutant does not discharge directly into a navigable water.

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Trump emergency declaration faces fights in the courts

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency along the southern border and predicted his administration would end up defending it all the way to the Supreme Court. That might have been the only thing Trump said Friday that produced near-universal agreement.

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Justices to decide if 2020 census can ask about citizenship

The Supreme Court will decide whether the 2020 census can include a question about citizenship that could affect the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal money. The justices agreed Friday to a speedy review of a lower court ruling that has so far blocked the Trump administration from adding the citizenship question to the census for the first time since 1950.

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Senate confirms William Barr as attorney general

The Senate on Thursday confirmed William Barr as attorney general, placing the veteran government official and lawyer atop the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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Whitaker: There’s been no change in Russia probe management

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will tell lawmakers on Friday that there has been no change since his arrival on the job in the “overall management” of the special counsel’s Russia investigation. He also will say that he has run the Justice Department to the best of his ability, with “fidelity to the law and to the Constitution.”

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Senate panel approves Trump’s attorney general nominee

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved William Barr’s nomination for attorney general along party lines Thursday, with Republicans praising his credentials and Democrats questioning how transparent he’ll be once special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation concludes. The vote now heads to the full Senate, where Barr is expected to be confirmed in a vote as soon as next week.

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Senate panel set to approve Trump’s attorney general nominee

The Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to approve William Barr’s nomination to be attorney general Thursday in a vote that is likely to be mostly along party lines as Democrats have questioned how transparent Barr will be once special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation concludes.

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Lapse in government funding worsens immigration backlog

The recent partial government shutdown — the longest in United States History — left federal lawyers scrambling as the government agencies they work with were shuttered, leaving cases unresolved, hearings missed and clients uncertain.

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Trump says release of Mueller report up to attorney general

President Donald Trump says it’s “totally up to” his attorney general whether the public gets to read special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said last week the probe is “close to being completed.”

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Trump, Pelosi remain far apart on border wall issue

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declared that there’ll be no “wall money” in any compromise border security deal as she and President Donald Trump signaled congressional negotiators may never satisfy his demands for his Southwest border proposal.

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Prosecutor: New charges possible in Russia probe leak case

New charges and arrests are possible in the prosecution of a U.S. Treasury Department employee accused of giving a journalist confidential banking reports related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Treasury worker Natalie Edwards, 40, is awaiting trial on charges she gave a BuzzFeed journalist reports about wire transfers made by Paul Manafort and other suspects in Mueller’s investigation.

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