Legal Services Corporation

* “It’s very simple. There was no crime. I did nothing wrong.” President Trump continues to believe that former special counsel Robert Mueller absolved him of any crimes, so that’s special. [POLITICO]

* And as for the 1000+ former prosecutors who say that Trump would have been indicted for obstruction of justice were he not a sitting president, per Trump, “They’re politicians. … And these are all — many of ’em are Trump haters.“ [This Week / ABC]

* With just two weeks left, tensions are high as the legal community awaits the Supreme Court’s decisions in the 24 cases that remain on this term’s docket. What fresh hell will be unleashed upon society this week? [The Hill]

* The Justice Department claims that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin didn’t break the law when he refused to turn over President Trump’s tax returns to Congress because he was just protecting their confidentiality. [Reuters]

* Trump intends to nominate a Biglaw partner to the board of directors for the Legal Services Corporation, the organization whose budget he keeps trying to cut. [Big Law Business]

* President Donald Trump has hired his longtime lawyer, Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson, to represent him as his independent counsel in the investigation of claims that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Is anyone really surprised that Trump chose to hire Kasowitz? Moreover, is anyone really surprised that he’d further complicate hiring Joe Lieberman as FBI director by doing so? [FOX Business]

* In somewhat related news, despite having worked as a partner at WilmerHale — a firm that represents former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as well as Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — Robert Mueller has been approved by ethics experts at the Justice Department to go ahead as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation, as he did not participate in those matters. Things are about to start heating up. [NPR]

* President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 fiscal budget includes a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the Department of Justice. The $27.7 billion request for the DOJ represents a 3.8 percent decrease from its current funding level, while the antitrust division’s funding will remain the same, at just under $165 million. It makes you wonder which initiatives will be discontinued. [Big Law Business]

* Speaking of the Trump budget, American Bar Association President Linda A. Klein has spoken out against it, criticizing its “egregious cuts to the Constitution’s promise of a fair legal process.” Funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have been completely eliminated, and if the money is not reinstated, “severe damage [could be done] to the most vulnerable people in our society.” [ABA Journal]

* Convicted killer Dylann Roof, who was found guilty of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and religious rights violations, has appealed his conviction and his death sentence to the Fourth Circuit. According to his lawyers, Roof wanted to appeal to drag the case on as long as possible, since he thinks white supremacists will eventually take over the country and pardon him. Wow. [AP]

* Harvard Law wants students to defer admission. Tuition deferral program still a no go apparently. [New York Times / Dealbook]

* Trump signing executive order to let the IRS choose when to enforce the Johnson amendment. I’m old enough to remember when conservatives had a meltdown over exaggerated allegations of IRS selective enforcement. Now it’s actually going to be legal and I doubt I’ll hear anything about it. [CBS News]

* Want to know how much a Sullivan & Cromwell partner takes home? Thankfully Donald Trump can tell us. [National Law Journal]

* Alabama enacts law allowing adoption agencies to reject gay couples. Alabama has one of the worst economies in America, but this was the issue that they really needed to address. Roll Tide. [Alabama]

* ABA President Linda Klein testifies on behalf of Legal Services Corporation. funding. Question: Is the ABA President job more or less difficult today? One could say “more” because she has to devote considerable energy to fighting a hostile government. Or you could say “less” because the most difficult argument she has to make is, “please don’t be monsters.” [ABA Journal]

* FAMU fired its dean. [Orlando Sentinel]

* New trend in litigation finance: buying portfolios of cases instead of investing in individual matters. We’ve reached the fund stage people! [Law.com]

* Former Guinea mining minister convicted of taking bribes. How did they know? Perhaps they thought he was a Dickensian throwback when he kept saying “Guinea” all the time. [Law360]

* Prosecutors raid Jones Day. This is not a joke. [Am Law Daily]

* Jim Harbaugh’s gonna be pissed. [ABA Journal]

* Harvard Law grad sentenced in kidnapping case. [SF Gate]

* Judge Gorsuch doesn’t really buy legislative history because sticking your fingers in your ears and going, “na, na, na, I’m not listening” is always solid jurisprudence. [Corporate Counsel]

* Should privilege cover PR flacks? [Law360]

* Lawyers may hate numbers, but clients don’t. [Legaltech News]

* Florida wants to bolster its stand your ground law, because there’s never been any problems with it. [Washington Post]

* Arizona Summit Law School announces its plan to affiliate with an established university… Bethune-Cookman?!? Because when you think of a for-profit law school in Phoenix, you obviously think of an HCBU in Florida. [AZ Central]

* 150 law firm leaders wrote a letter asking the government to continue funding legal services, which is nice, but Jim Harbaugh’s already on the case. [Am Law Daily]

* House passes tough new regulations for class action certification… just what rural, Rust Belt voters were hankering for. [National Law Journal]

* K-Y sued over trade secret theft allegations. I don’t know about this case, but I always thought those guys were slippery. [P&T Community]

* A blow-by-blow of the day Kellyanne started shilling for cheap jewelry on national television. [NBC News]

* Restaurant sues to force Trump to divest from his hotel, citing unfair competition when a sitting president can entice people to eat at his well-done steak and ketchup establishments. [Law.com]

* Add Turkey to the list of countries with ethically dubious ties to the Trump campaign. [Huffington Post]

* The EU is figuring out that the “right to be forgotten” provides a gaping loophole for CEOs to cover up their mistakes and abuses. [Courthouse News Service]

* The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has extended a deadline to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request asking who the director of the agency is. That’s all they want. And the PTO asked for more time to respond! The absurdity of this reminds me of Apocalypse Now. [IP Watchdog]

* You’ve heard about Justice Ginsburg’s workout regimen. Well, Politico sent a reporter to do it and… it nearly broke him. [Politico]

* Divorce judge sued for allegedly spitting on a former Mintz Levin attorney. The New York legal community keeping it classy. [Law360]

* In totally unsurprising move, guy who thought the KKK was cool until he found out they smoked pot withdraws the government’s objection to Texas efforts to suppress minority voting. [NY Times]

* More law firms are changing their partner compensation models to create an even more competitive environment. There’s no way this can backfire and create a woefully dysfunctional partnership. Nope. [Law.com]

* The Jeffrey Wertkin case puts a spotlight on the whole whistle-blower unit. [Bloomberg]

* Winston & Strawn are going after laterals pretty hard. [Am Law Daily]

* Now might be a good time to make a donation to legal aid. [Litigation Daily]