Today's Headlines and Commentary

A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia returned a seven-count indictment against a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence officer who defected to Iran and shared intelligence material with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the New York Times reports. Lawfare posted the indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday.

The Egyptian Parliament is set to vote on a constitutional amendment granting President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi sweeping powers to control the judiciary and remain in office past the end of his term in 2022, according to the Washington Post.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance is exploring ways to counter Russia’s violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, while ruling out new deployment of land-based nuclear systems in Europe, the AP details.

After Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, claimed that his panel’s Russia probe found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, ranking member Mark Warner of Virginia publicly disagreed, putting the committee’s leaders at odds over its investigative conclusions, CNN reports.

The International Court of Justice ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear Iran’s claims seeking the recovery of Iranian assets seized by U.S. courts in litigation related to the 1983 Beirut barrack bombings, overruling objections raised by lawyers representing the United States, Reuters details.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Steve Vladeck analyzed litigation the Supreme Court is considering hearing on whether retired military members can be court martialed for crimes committed after leaving active duty.

Mikhaila Fogel shared comment she received from the special counsel’s office.

Paul Rosenzweig discussed a recent proposal to establish a centralized government body for cybersecurity issues.

Stewart Baker shared a new episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast featuring discussion of a Justice Department indictment of two young men for stealing cryptocurrency, Jeff Bezos’ accusations against the National Enquirer and more.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of The Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes discussed Brexit with Brookings Europe expert Amanda Sloat.