Today's Headlines and Commentary

In his second State of the Union address, President Donald Trump called for an end to “ridiculous partisan investigations,” NBC News reports.

Russia hosted Afghanistan peace talks in Moscow between Taliban representatives and former Afghanistan government officials, notably leaving out representatives from the current government in Kabul, according to the New York Times.

Macedonia is set to join NATO as the alliance’s 30th member after changing its name to the Republic of North Macedonia, the BBC details.

The House Intelligence Committee voted to transmit documents from its investigation of Russian election interference to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Washington Post reports.

Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, announced an expanded scope of the committee’s Russia investigation, to now include inquiries on whether financial interests broadly have influenced Trump’s decision-making and possible foreign leverage over “Trump, his family, his business, or his associates,” CNN details.

In an investigation targeting violations of foreign lobbying restrictions, spun off from Mueller’s inquiry, federal prosecutors have interviewed employees of two lobbying firms and one law firm involved in Paul Manafort’s lobbying on behalf of Ukraine, according to the Times.

Ahead of a second major U.S.-North Korean summit on denuclearization, UN sanctions monitors reported North Korean efforts to disperse its nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure in an attempt to protect the arsenal from future military strikes, according to Reuters.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Sarah Grant summarized pretrial proceedings in the 9/11 military commission, which took place on Jan. 28 and 29.

Jean Galbraith and Benjamin Schwartz analyzed how Justice Department “views letters” reflect the Trump administration’s assertion of executive powers.

Robert Chesney announced U.S. Cyber Command’s sixth annual legal conference, which will be held on March 4-7.

Stewart Baker shared an episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast featuring an interview with Reuters reporters Chris Bing and Joel Schectman on their reporting about U.S. cyber mercenaries, and more.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of The Lawfare Podcast in which Jack Goldsmith spoke with Yale professor Samuel Moyn on the liberal international order and President Trump’s effect on it.

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