Today's Headlines and Commentary

Former FBI Director James Comey has agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Times reported over the weekend. His testimony, before an open hearing of the committee, will be scheduled for some time after Memorial Day. Last week, the Times reported that in February, Trump asked then-Director Comey to end the FBI investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

The AP reports that Flynn will exercise his Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to comply with a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee for documents related to the committee’s ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr indicated that Flynn’s lawyers had refused to provide the requested documents last week, though he then walked back the statement.

President Donald Trump landed in Israel today for the second leg of his foreign trip, where he appeared to confirm reports that he disclosed Israeli intelligence to Russian officials in an Oval Office meeting, saying, “I never mentioned the word Israel.” He became the first sitting president to visit the contested Old City of Jerusalem, according to Haaretz. He also plans to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to discuss the peace process, saying he has “found new reasons for hope” after meeting with Arab leaders over the weekend, reports the New York Times. Trump has previously called Arab-Israeli peace “the ultimate deal.”

On the first leg of his trip, in Saudi Arabia, President Trump delivered an uncharacteristically tempered speech about extremism, the Washington Post reports. Trump moved away from his usual criticism of Islam as a whole, instead calling on leaders of Muslim nations to “drive [extremists] out of your places of worship … your communities … your holy land.” The Times writes that the speech was intended to signal a departure from Trump’s traditional description of extremism as “radical Islamic terrorism” in favor of “Islamist extremism,” but the President mistakenly used both terms.

Trump also signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Reuters reports that the deal was swiftly criticized by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival. The Times examines how Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia has underlined existing sectarian and regional tensions as the United States emphasizes its commitment to Sunni Arab nations, especially given the President’s strong criticism of Tehran in his Riyadh address.

Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani won a second term as President of Iran over the weekend. A moderate, Rouhani won 57 percent of the vote with over 70 percent turnout, reports the BBC. Rouhani’s win may provide a mandate for further economic and political reform.

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria has begun training the Raqqa Internal Forces to secure the city after ISIS fighters leave the city, reports ARA News. Previously, the local force had only been trained for internal policing, not stabilization. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said the objective of the training was to improve local security capacity so that the conflict is “no longer a trans-regional, transnational threat.”

The Post reports the final stages of the battle to retake Mosul from ISIS may be “extremely violent,” according to a U.S. officer advising Iraqi forces. The effort to oust Islamic State forces from the Iraqi city has now been going on for eight months as Iraqi troops push ISIS fighters into smaller and smaller areas of the city. Tens of thousands of civilians still remain within the city limits.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended the country’s existing state of emergency indefinitely, declaring that he will maintain his extensive emergency powers until Turkey attains “welfare and piece.” Erdogan recently won a narrow victory in a nationwide referendum to expand his presidential powers, a vote that many observers criticized as moving the country toward authoritarianism. The Times has more.

On Sunday, North Korea successfully tested a medium-range ballistic missile, reports the Times. The ground-to-ground projectile traveled 310 miles from a launch site near Pukchang before falling into the Sea of Japan. This test comes one week after the successful test of another MCBM, believed to be North Korea’s longest-range missile to date.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

Quinta Jurecic posted the Lawfare Podcast, featuring Mira Rapp-Hooper on the crisis in North Korea.

In the Foreign Policy Essay Thomas Juneau wrote about Canada’s strategy for dealing with the Trump administration, and why it works.

Andrew Kent explained the scope of the special counsel investigation into potential Russian interference and what the public should expect to learn from it.

Jack Goldsmith refuted the argument that former FBI Director James Comey grandstanded or politicized the Russia investigation.

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