Today's Headlines and Commentary

Britain and the EU have reached a provisional Brexit agreement, which will be discussed in an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon called by British Prime Minister Theresa May, reports the Washington Post.

President Trump has named retired Army General John Abizaid as the new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a post that has been vacant since the beginning of the Trump presidency. Abizaid is currently a consultant and a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, says the New York Times.

Sens. Jeff Flake and Chris Coons are planning to request a Senate floor vote on Wednesday on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired, says the Wall Street Journal. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis in April.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined French President Emmanuel Macron in calling for a European Army in the future, reports the Times. Merkel said in a speech on Tuesday that Europe can no longer rely unconditionally on other countries, and must unite to survive.

The Trump administration unveiled new sanctions against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and designated a Hezbollah leader’s son, Jawad Nasrallah, a terrorist for allegedly working to “activate a suicide bombing and shooting cell based in the West Bank” in January 2016, says the Post.

The Russian Ministry of Justice is arguing that a U.S. federal court should dismiss a Democratic National Committee lawsuit alleging that Russian military spies, the Trump campaign and Wikileaks conspired to distort the 2016 elections in favor of Donald Trump, reports the Post. Moscow’s argument is that the Russian government is protected from such lawsuits by the United States’ Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Bob Bauer argued that the best way forward for the Mueller investigation is for each institution involved to follow Robert Mueller’s example and do their assigned jobs.

Matt Tait argued that it’s time to start looking at election security in 2020 both in terms of obtaining an accurate ballot results and convincing the public that the tally is accurate.

Robert Chesney flagged UT-Austin’s Strauss Center and the Atlantic Council’s standalone “Cyber 9/12” Strategy Competition, the regional complement to the “Cyber 9/12” Strategy Competition held in D.C. in the spring.

Matthew Kahn shared the State of Maryland’s motion to substitute the acting attorney general for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a defendant in litigation related to the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, and asking for expedited consideration declaring Matthew Whitaker is not the lawful acting attorney general.
Matthew Kahn shared the 2017 FBI Hate Crimes Report, released Tuesday.

Jen Patja Howell posted a new episode of the Lawfare Podcast, a Brookings panel discussion focusing on Europe and the UK on the brink of Brexit.

Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.

We rely on contributions from our generous readers, and now, as a thank you, we're offering a Lawfare challenge coin! Get yours by making a donation at lawfarestore.com.