Welcome back to Trump Watch. All eyes are on the U.S. Supreme Court today, where the justices are holding a private conference. They're discussing possible action in a number of Trump administration cases, including DACA, the transgender military ban, and more. For now, a bombshell report from BuzzFeed News could mean more new legal trouble for Trump. So what should you be watching for? And we got the first big court ruling in census litigation this week. What are the Trump administration's next steps? Read below.

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Yet another congressional inquiry could loom for the president, with Democratic lawmakers in the House vowing Thursday night to investigate a claim in a BuzzFeed News report that said Donald Trump directed his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress in 2017.

The report—citing two unnamed law enforcement officials—said special counsel Robert Mueller III has evidence that Trump instructed Cohen to lie to Congress about the timing of negotiations over a Trump Tower development in Moscow. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about those talks. The reporting also adds fresh details about Trump and his family members' alleged involvement in the so-called Moscow Project as well.

Lawmakers began reacting overnight, with House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff stating that the allegation Trump might have suborned perjury is “among the most serious to date.” He said, “We will do what's necessary to find out if it's true.”

Rudy Giuliani, the president's counsel, only said in a statement Thursday: “If you believe Cohen I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Here are just a few things we're watching for…

>> The reporting sets the stage for Cohen's already hotly-anticipated Feb. 7 testimony before the House Oversight committee. Although Cohen's attorneys have indicated he won't be able to discuss parts of the Russia investigation in open session, the hearing could still conceivably offer some new details about Cohen's work and contact with Trump. Will we, for example, get more insight into whether he shared his false testimony with the White House beforehand?

>> The story also suggests Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump played a bigger role in the so-called Moscow Project than previously known—describing how the two received “regular, detailed updates” about it from Cohen. More crucially, as the story notes, Trump Jr. testified to senators in September 2017 that he was only “peripherally aware” of the project—an account BuzzFeed's sources dispute in the story.

>> Lastly, the reporting adds new urgency to the question of whether special counsel Robert Mueller III's findings will ever make their way to the public. During his confirmation hearing, attorney general nominee Bill Barr stated he would be as “transparent” as possible about sharing the results of Mueller's probe with the public, but he fell short of committing to their full release. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, among others, is seeking clarification about whether Barr intends to only release a report that he's prepared, explaining why they've chosen to act or not act on certain findings, rather than releasing Mueller's own findings.

 

 

Trump Docket: What's Next for the Census?

A June printing deadline might be top of mind for the Trump administration while it weighs its next move to re-add a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 census.

That question—which asks “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”—was ordered removed on Tuesday by a Manhattan federal judge who found its addition violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In a whopper 277-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross committed “a veritable smorgasbord of classic, clear-cut APA violations” when he added the question.

It's not immediately clear what the Trump administration might do next, short of curing the “legal defects” identified in Furman's ruling. But we will likely find out soon: The administration faces a fast-approaching June deadline to print census forms, which means Justice Department lawyers will need to seek a quick resolution if they want to re-add the citizenship question.

On Thursday, the Trump administration notified Furman it will appeal his ruling to the Second Circuit. In theory, DOJ could ask the Second Circuit for expedited consideration, but, as lawyers have suggested, the Trump administration could also be teeing up its next move: asking the Supreme Court to stay the ruling, and even hear the case before the Second Circuit has weighed in.

All the while, there's a trial on the citizenship question already underway in San Francisco—with another trial expected to begin in Maryland Tuesday.

 

 

What else happened this week? Some reads below…

>> The Trump administration hasn't said when it will re-submit the dozens of judicial nominations that lapsed at the end of 2018. The White House, however, did nominatesix men this week to district court seats in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and North Dakota.

>> “Neomi Rao—President Donald Trump's pick for a powerful federal judgeship and a reported US Supreme Court contender—wrote a string of op-eds in college and just after she graduated, at times using inflammatory language to discuss race, date rape, and LGBT rights.” [BuzzFeed News]

>> “So, I Got an Email From Matthew Whitaker's Wife” [Slate]

That's it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading Trump Watch. Reach out any time and tell us what you want to read at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter.