Today's Headlines and Commentary

Several anonymous sources alleged that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed secretly recording the president and potentially encouraging members of the cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment, reports the New York Times. Rosenstein disputed the allegations, saying “The New York Times’s story is inaccurate and factually incorrect … Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.”

President Trump tweeted Friday morning that the Department of Justice Inspector General will now review the documents from the special counsel investigation that he ordered to be released earlier this week. According to Vox, the President appears to be walking back his earlier instruction that excerpts of a large number of documents be declassified without redactions.

National security adviser John Bolton announced that the White House has authorized “offensive cyber operations” to counter U.S. adversaries, according to the Washington Post. Bolton did not elaborate on the specific nature or scope of these operations.

Google employees discussed altering the company’s search engine functions to show users results that countered President Trump’s travel ban, reports the Wall Street Journal. Company emails reveal that the changes would have shown users how to make contributions to pro-immigration organizations and contact their representatives; reportedly, none of the changes or proposals were implemented.

Several Russian, pro-gun social media accounts copied language from the National Rifle Association, and on a number of occasions, the NRA copied their content as well, according to NPR.

The United States imposed sanctions the Chinese military after the it purchased fighter jets and missile systems from Russia, reports Reuters.

The New York Times published an in-depth analysis of what the public currently knows about the Russian plot to undermine U.S. elections in 2016.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Geoffrey Corn and Peter Margulies analyzed the Israel Defence Forces Military Advocate General’s’ recently-released report on Operation Protective Edge.

Jen Patja Howell posted the latest episode of Rational Security, in which Shane Harris, Susan Hennessey, Tamara Cofman Wittes, and Benjamin Wittes discussed Manafort’s guilty plea and Trump’s declassification order.

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