Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Chinese telecom giant Huawei sued the U.S. government in Texas federal court on Thursday, reports NPR. The suit alleges that the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) violates the bill of attainder clause by prohibiting U.S. federal agencies from purchasing Huawei equipment or contracting with the company. Lawfare posted Huawei’s complaint.

Judge T.S. Ellis III sentenced Paul Manafort to 47 months in prison on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. In 2018, a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found Manafort guilty of tax and bank fraud. Prosecutors for the special counsel’s office had asked Judge Ellis for a higher sentence, in line with federal guidelines, after Manafort violated an agreement to cooperate with the special counsel investigation. Manafort faces sentencing in a separate trial in the District of Columbia next week.

Michael Cohen sued the Trump Organization in New York state court on Thursday for failing to pay legal fees that Cohen said it owed him, details the Wall Street Journal. Cohen alleges that after he signed a cooperation agreement with the special counsel’s office, the Trump Organization refused to pay him nearly $2 million in legal fees that he accrued related to the special counsel’s investigation and several congressional hearings.

The Trump administration revoked part of Executive Order 13732, which required annual reporting on how many civilians are killed by military and CIA drone strikes, reports the Post. The State Department claimed that the reporting requirement was superfluous because of a recently passed legislative requirement for the military to report on civilian casualties under the 2019 NDAA, but experts said the requirement will not include reporting on casualties related to CIA missions.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that habeas corpus protections apply to individuals applying for asylum at the border, details the Times. The ruling allows asylum seekers to pursue judicial review of asylum decisions while they remain in U.S. custody. Experts said the decision will permit thousands to stay in the United States while judges review their cases, but the government will likely appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Hayley Evans and Natalie Salmanowitz reviewed recent developments related to the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Quinta Jurecic posted Huawei’s lawsuit against the United States.

Craig Forcese discussed the state of the legal conflict in Canada over the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to the United States.

Austin Lowe argued that China’s reform of its foreign investment framework poses an opportunity for the United States to press for structural changes in China’s economic policies.

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