Today's Headlines and Commentary

President Trump announced on Friday morning that he intends to nominate former attorney general William P. Barr, who served under George H.W. Bush, to return as head of the Justice Department, reports the New York Times.

Trump also intends to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the next U.S. ambassador to the UN, says the Washington Post. Nauert joined the State Department last year after a career as an anchor and correspondent at Fox News.

OPEC and Russia have agreed to a deal that would cut oil production by a collective 1.2 million barrels a day, reports the Wall Street Journal. The deal has not yet been confirmed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said in a radio interview on Thursday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in the clear to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London, reports the Times.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office is expected to release a sentencing memo in Manhattan federal court in litigation against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen as well as additional information on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s falsehoods, reports the Times.

The UN General Assembly rejected a resolution proposed by the United States to condemn Islamic militant group Hamas for violence against Israel, reports the Times. The rejection came as a blow to former U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, whose staunch support for the resolution was a core pillar of her tenure.

ICYMI:Yesterday on Lawfare

Charles Duan analyzed recent developments in a dispute between Apple and Qualcomm as well as its effect on national security and foreign economic policy.

Elena Chachko assessed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision in Tabish v. Attorney General and its effects on interpretation of laws related to the use of force in interrogations.

Mikhaila Fogel posted a special edition of the Lawfare Podcast, in which Benjamin Wittes sat down with Preet Bharara to discuss a topics ranging from a recent report published by the National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy to William Barr to the Mueller investigation.

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