Today’s Headlines and Commentary

President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is planning to travel to Ukraine to encourage the country’s president-elect to pursue investigations into the Mueller investigation and a transaction involving Joe Biden’s son, revealed the New York Times. The Times reported that the trip was part of an effort to discredit the Mueller investigation as well as undermine Biden’s presidential candidacy.

President Trump announced that he will nominate Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to be defense secretary, reported Politico.

The Pentagon has authorized moving $1.5 billion, including money allocated to supporting Afghan security forces and dismantling lethal chemical weapons, to build Trump’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the AP. The money will pay for 80 miles of wall.

Trade talks with China stalled on Friday, and President Trump says he is considering imposing tariffs on another $325 billion in Chinese goods and the Chinese also consider countermeasures, reported the Financial Times.

The French government is ramping up efforts to regulate Facebook, including potentially seeking access to Facebook’s algorithms, in an effort to combat hate speech, noted Reuters. A report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron also recommended creating independent regulators for Facebook as France looks to take a leading role in regulating large tech firms.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Margaret Taylor reviewed the executive branch’s escalating clash over oversight with Congress.

Bobby Chesney examined recent changes in Cyber Command’s out-of-network operations.

Mikhaila Fogel posted McKeever’s petition to the D.C. Circuit for a rehearing en banc in McKeever v. Barr.

Peter Margulies summarized the Ninth Circuit decision allowing the Trump administration to continue its “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum applicants.

Kate Klonick advocated for empirical research in journalism and scholarship on big tech firms.

Matthew Kahn posted an unsealed indictment charging a former intelligence analyst with espionage for providing classified information to a reporter.

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