Today's Headlines and Commentary

During the 2016 presidential election, Russia’s disinformation campaign used stories from “major American news sources” to shape political debate online and legitimize their Twitter accounts, the Washington Post reports. By sharing articles from popular news sources instead of obscure foreign sites, Russian bots were able to manipulate audiences more easily. The stories, while “generally factually accurate,” highlighted news developments that favored then-candidate Donald Trump and undermined Hillary Clinton. A study conducted by Jonathan Albright, a social media researcher at Columbia University, found that the majority of stories shared by Russian accounts came from Breitbart News, the Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. According to Albright, the complete list of the top 25 sites shared by Russian bots had a distinctly “conservative bent.”

In an appearance before the House intelligence committee on Thursday, Steve Bannon continued to refuse to answer certain questions about his time serving in the Trump administration, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bannon stated that he would only answer “25 pre-written questions about his time in government and the transition between administrations,” greatly angering the committee’s Democrats. The limits on Bannon’s testimony stem from the Trump administration’s efforts to maintain the confidentiality of internal deliberations, raising the question of whether the administration will invoke executive privilege. Despite Bannon’s refusal to answer questions from the House intelligence panel, the former White House chief strategist spoke with the special counsel investigation “over multiple days this week,” NBC News reports. Bannon met with the investigation for “some 20 hours,” according to two sources with knowledge of the proceedings. Last month, the New York Times reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team had obtained a grand jury subpoena to compel Bannon’s testimony.

The Fourth Circuit ruled against President Trump’s travel ban Thursday, the Times reports. Because the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal to a similar ruling that the Ninth Circuit handed down last month, the Fourth Circuit’s decision will have no impact on proceedings related to the latest iteration of Trump’s ban, which seeks to restrict travel from eight countries deemed threats to U.S. national security. Six of the eight countries are predominantly Muslim. The Fourth Circuit ruled the ban unconstitutional on the basis that it violated the establishment clause, which prohibits religious discrimination by the government. The Supreme Court will likely hear oral argument in April.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Lebanon to “disassociate” itself from Hezbollah, the Post reports. In a news conference with the Lebanese prime minister, Tillerson decried Hezbollah’s close relationship with Iran and condemned the group’s role in exacerbating ongoing violence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The secretary of state’s visit to Beirut and his unequivocal condemnation of Hezbollah are parts of the Trump administration’s broader effort to mitigate Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East. Tillerson also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the Journal adds. The meeting comes as the U.S. and its NATO ally continue to disagree over Turkey’s ongoing offensive in northern Syria; discussions between Tillerson and Erdogan seek to overcome those differences. As Tillerson visited Ankara, Defense Secretary James Mattis met with his Turkish counterpart in Brussels to determine how to resolve the countries’ differences of opinion on the invasion in northern Syria. Mattis—joined by Gen. Curtis Scaparotti, the supreme commander of NATO allied forces—described the meeting as tense but “very productive.” Earlier on Thursday in Beirut, Tillerson emphasized the “endpoint objectives” shared by the U.S. and Turkey in Syria, including the defeat of the Islamic State, the eradication of terrorism, and a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.

South African President Jacob Zuma agreed on Wednesday to step down, the Times reports. The president’s own party, the African National Congress, repudiated Zuma, and he faced the looming threat of a vote of no-confidence in the parliament. Despite this disgraceful conclusion to his career, Zuma began his presidency an inspiring figure. A stalwart anti-apartheid activist who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela, Zuma symbolized hope for millions of poor South Africans. Over the course of his presidency, however, Zuma became a symbol of the corruption that flourished under his regime as a series of corruption scandals, allegations of misconduct, and “harsh court judgments” revealed his dishonesty and criminal activity. Cyril Ramaphosa will succeed Zuma as the next president of South Africa, the BBC reports. Ramaphosa, a former mineworker and businessmen, has vowed to crack down hard on corruption.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Chris Mirasola summarized the ongoing legal battle for the release of the Trump administration’s legal justification for U.S. airstrikes in Syria in April 2017.

Justin Florence and Allison Murphy argued that the government should release the war powers memo explaining this legal justification.

Dror Michman and Yael Mizrahi-Arnaud explained Israel’s attack on an Iranian command and control unit in Syria last weekend and the incident’s implications.

Elena Chachko and Amichai Cohen discussed the international legality of the countries’ actions.

Nadiya Kostyuk and Stuart Russell highlighted the successes of the U.K.’s Active Cyber Defence program and how the program could benefit the U.S.

Megan Reiss addressed Moldova’s new law banning Russian news broadcasts and pondered how the U.S. and its allies can support anti-Russian propaganda efforts in Eastern Europe.

William Ford shared the live streams of and prepared testimonies from Wednesday’s House and Senate hearings on foreign policy and national security.

William Ford posted the Congressional Task Force on Election Security’s January 2018 Report and newly proposed bill, the Election Security Act.

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