Today's Headlines and Commentary

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó released a video this morning announcing a “final phase” of an effort he called Operation Liberty to remove President Nicolas Máduro from office, reports the Washington Post. The video urged the Venezuelan people to engage in nonviolent protest in support of the effort as senior U.S. officials expressed support for the opposition. According to Reuters, security forces were seen firing tear gas at Guaidó and several dozen men in military uniforms near an air force base in Caracas. Several government officials have released statements denouncing the attempted coup. The situation on the ground in Venezuela is still developing.

President Trump, his three eldest children and his company filed a suit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One to prevent the companies from providing financial records to Congress, reported CNN. Unlike a similar lawsuit President Trump filed last week in Washington D.C. against his accounting firm, this suit does not name the House Oversight Committee as a party.

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office filed charges against the alleged perpetrator of the California synagogue shooting, said Reuters. The charges characterized the attack as a hate crime and the arraignment is scheduled for today.

Vodafone identified backdoors in equipment that Huawei provided the carrier for its fixed-line network in Italy, reported Bloomberg. Vodafone noted that the issues were resolved when they were discovered in 2011 and 2012 while acknowledging that they would have granted Huawei unauthorized access to Italian internet traffic.

Trump demanded an overhaul of the asylum system in a memo on Monday to the Acting Director of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, said the New York Times. The memo called for application fees and restraints on work permits for asylum seekers in addition to the the resolution of all backlogged immigration court cases within 190 days. Although the asylum system is legally determined by Congress, the president gave executive branch officials 90 days to create regulations that would enact his new policies.

In a continuation of its deep-dive investigation into Chinese military technology, Reuters examined the implications of the growth of the Chinese navy on the balance of power in the Pacific.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Quinta Jurecic analyzed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s the interpretation of the Take Care Clause, found in the second volume of his report.

Scott Anderson commented on the obstruction of justice analysis Attorney General William Barr conducted when interpreting the findings of the Mueller Report.

Mikhaila Fogel posted D.C. Circuit orders rejecting Andrew Miller’s petitions to have his case reheard.

Eric Halliday shared the first of a series of posts discussing the national security implications of transnational organized crime.

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast discussing recent SEC activity regarding blockchain.

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