World Cup fever is sweeping North America. Today marks the end of the first set of pool play games, and so far we’ve seen a brace from American striker Folarin Bolagun (who would not be a U.S. citizen under the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment) in a 4-1 win over Paraguay, as well as a hat trick from Messi, braces from Mbappe and Haaland and Kane, and a remarkable scoreless draw between Spain and Cape Verde (which apparently cost one person $1 million on the prediction markets). Despite the ridiculous cost of tickets and the general unease in the world about the U.S. these days, crowds have been large and vigorous. The newly expanded 48-team format has led to a schedule where most days feature 4 games, spaced 3 hours apart, making for a continuous viewing experience. So far it’s been a triumph.
As foreshadowed, on Sunday (or Monday, depending on your timezone) the U.S. and Iran announced their intention to sign a memorandum of understanding this coming Friday in Geneva. However, apparently the MOU was instead signed by both countries’ presidents late today, with Trump’s signature coming while eating at Versailles with French President Macron following the conclusion of this week’s G-7 meeting.
What is in the MOU? It was read aloud to reporters today, but the text has not yet been officially released. What is known about it does not sound very promising, to be honest. For one thing, it calls for the immediate waiver of U.S. sanctions to allow Iran to export oil; legal scholar Jack Goldsmith observes that the executive probably can’t do this without Congressional approval, under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Act of 2015, but of course Trump constantly reminds me of Steve Goodman’s turn of phrase “little care I for the law”.
Tomorrow is a scheduled SCOTUS opinions release day, so we’ll see if anything particularly interesting emerges.
Some legal news from last month that I missed relates to AHA v. Trump, a case filed in April in connection with the administration’s newfound legal opinion that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, requiring various federal defendants other than the President and Vice-President to not comply with the new legal opinion and associated new records retention guidance. The judge apparently felt that it was unclear as to whether the judiciary could enjoin Trump and Vance, and that it would be sufficient to enjoin all of their subordinates.
There was a runoff primary in Georgia last night, for both Governor and Senate. The sitting Lieutenant Governor, Bert Jones, had been endorsed by Trump and had a plurality in the April primary, but was defeated in the runoff by self-funding billionaire (and alleged tax cheat) Rick Jackson. Jackson will go on to face former Atlanta mayor (and potential 2020 vice-presidential candidate) Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump went 1-for-2 in endorsements, however, as Rep. Mike Collins advanced to face Sen. Ossoff over an opponent (Derek Dooley) endorsed by outgoing Governor Brian Kemp.
Finally, I tend not to blog about legislation that has no chance of being enacted, but I am fascinated by Senator Sanders’ announcement that he is about to introduce a bill called the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, under which all major U.S. AI companies would be required to give 50% stock, together with voting rights and board seats, to a new government-controlled fund. This is precisely the type of bold public policy thinking that we need.