Lisa Rubin

@MSNOWnews senior legal reporter & recovering litigator; former: off-air legal analyst @maddow, @wagnertonight. Don’t let the pearls fool ya.

[Jake Traylor @jake__traylor]

SCOOP: Trump to appear on podcast hosted by Michael Cohen, his former fixer and onetime foe

The interview is scheduled to air Thursday on Cohen’s podcast, according to a White House official granted anonymity to describe plans that have not been publicly announced.

The interview marks an extraordinary thaw in the relationship between the two men, whose rupture played out across court filings, congressional testimony and a tell-all book.

w/ @VaughnHillyard

https://t.co/YFeB1wGxsc

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

Bill Essayli's hometown paper is asking DOJ the same question I did: Does the Ninth Circuit ruling about Sigal Chattah apply to him too? (Neither of us got an answer beyond DOJ's assertion to seek relief from SCOTUS.)

[Brittny Mejia @brittny_mejia]

My latest: Trump's top federal prosecutor in L.A. could face new challenge after appellate ruling

https://t.co/9671D9trmj

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

And then the DOJ asserts that it does not matter whether Trump or any president "has an influence on the prosecutorial decisions of his subordinates (as the Constitution plainly contemplates," but that the legal test examines only "whether those prosecutors have exercised their power within the constraints of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses." FIN.

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

NEW: DOJ’s brief opposing Comey's motion to dismiss for selective and vindictive prosecution doubles down on the argument Todd Blanche made on the Sunday shows over the weekend: The DOJ need not be independent of the president. 1/

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

And then DOJ further argues -- noting President Kennedy's selection of his brother as his attorney general, which predates post-Watergate reforms and norms -- that "as a matter of historical analysis," DOJ's purported independence "is a myth." 4/

[Ken Dilanian @KDilanianMSNOW]

New: A whistleblower says the Trump administration’s anti-Semitism investigations into Ivy League schools ignored evidence to reach a pre-determined conclusion. https://t.co/txJU1TBRRE

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

NEW: A Department of Justice spokesperson, asked for comment on the Ninth Circuit's ruling disqualifying Nevada's acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah tells MS NOW, "We disagree with the 9th Circuit’s decision and we plan to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.”

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

We have reached out to the DOJ for comment on its understanding of today's ruling--the product of two Trump nominees and a Clinton nominee--and how it applies to Essayli. FIN.

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

NEW: A 9th Circuit panel unanimously upholds the disqualification of Nevada's acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah. But its reasoning likely applies to Bill Essayli, who was appointed First Assistant U.S. Attorney after his own acting tenure ran out. 1/

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

The court's ruling is plain: "[T]he Attorney General’s authority to delegate does not permit him to vest all of the functions and duties of a vacant office in a single person." 7/

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

PROUD WIFE ALERT: Congrats to @jonoram on the Hollywood Reporter’s broadcasting what we’ve always known: https://t.co/MdipIeNvpY via @thr

[Jessica S. Tisch @NYPDPC]

Earlier this evening, an individual disrupted Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and headbutted a member of the security team. An NYPD sergeant working a paid detail at the synagogue immediately stepped in and took the individual into custody.

I have spoken with the rabbi of the synagogue, and I’m relieved that no one was seriously injured. Those who were hurt were evaluated at the scene and are doing well. There are no known additional threats at this time, and additional NYPD resources have been deployed to the synagogue. The investigation is ongoing.

I understand the sanctity of this space and its meaning for congregants. Central Synagogue is where I grew up. In joy and in sorrow, it has always been a place of comfort and peace. What happened there tonight is deeply painful. A place of worship should never be a crime scene.

[Lisa Rubin @lawofruby]

NEW: On the same day their client pled guilty to two federal stalking charges, Luigi Mangione's lawyers have also filed a motion to dismiss all remaining state charges on double jeopardy grounds.

https://t.co/SJ3A7PX3gZ