Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Vishnu Kannan
Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 2:11 PM

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam publicly apologized for proposing the controversial extradition bill which sparked mass protests in Hong Kong but said that she would not resign, the New York Times reports.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam publicly apologized for proposing the controversial extradition bill which sparked mass protests in Hong Kong but said that she would not resign, the New York Times reports.

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan stepped down from his position and withdrew himself from consideration to be Trump’s permanent defense secretary. He was replaced as acting secretary by current Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, NPR writes.

The Trump Administration cut $550 million in aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to the Financial Times. The move to reallocate appropriations earmarked by lawmakers in the 2017 and 2018 budgets comes three months after the president warned of the cuts, arguing that the three countries were not doing enough to stem the flow of migrants travelling to the U.S. border.

Yemen’s Houthi movement has agreed to allow the United Nations to inspect ships in the port city of Hodeidah. The agreement follows the Houthis’ unilateral withdrawal from three port cities under a U.N.-sponsored deal, Reuters reports.

Paul Manafort has been moved to the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in New York City to face state mortgage fraud charges. He was expected to be transferred to Rikers Island, but concerns about his “health and personal safety” led Justice Department officials to keep him in federal custody, the Washington Post reports.

The Iranian government said yesterday that they exposed a cyber espionage network run by the CIA, reports Reuters. This led to the identification and arrest of U.S. spies in different countries, according to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary.

India has agreed to revisit its controversial rules, which mandated foreign payment companies store their data in the country, Reuters says .

Libra, Facebook’s digital coin, will launch in 2020 the Post writes .

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Mikhaila Fogel announced that Lawfare is accepting fall 2019 internship applications.

Kemal Kirisci suggested that attempts to implement policy recommendations from the Global Compact on Refugees should begin in Turkey.

Mai El-Sadany warned that a recent referendum in Egypt writes authoritarianism into the country’s constitution.

Nichlas Weaver noted that any prosecution of Julian Assange will likely not involve charges concerning the Vault 7 release.

Bobby Chesney explored the legal and policy questions raised by the recent New York Times article detailing U.S. Cyber Command’s intrusions into the Russian power grid.

Sarah Grant dissected the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Karnoski v. Trump, one of the cases challenging the Trump administration’s ban on military service by transgender individuals.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast, featuring a discussion with Benjamin WIttes, Scott Anderson and Suzanne Maloney on the tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, featuring an interview with David Sanger and a discussion about Broadcom’s recent announcement, the recent Pinterest debacle and more.

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.


Vishnu Kannan is special assistant to the president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously he was a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow in Carnegie’s Technology and International Affairs Program, a researcher at Lawfare and the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and an intern at the Brookings Institution. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University where he studied International Relations, Political Theory and Economics.

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