Today's Headlines and Commentary

Attorney General Bill Barr provided a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and released it publicly. Barr quoted the report as saying that the “investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” Barr noted that Mueller did not take a position on potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, though Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined there was not enough evidence to support an obstruction charge, the New York Times reports. Lawfare posted Barr’s letter in full.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) will call Barr in to testify on Mueller’s final report and Barr’s letter to Congress, according to NBC News.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on an unnamed foreign company’s refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by Mueller’s grand jury, the Washington Post details.

After U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured the last remaining Islamic State territory over the weekend, Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria called for an international tribunal to try Islamic State detainees currently in SDF detention, Reuters reports.

Following the arrival in Venezuela of two Russian Air Force planes carrying almost 100 military personnel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end military support of Russian-backed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to Reuters.

Israeli Defense Forces conducted airstrikes in Gaza targeting Hamas, responding to a rocket attack launched from Gaza, the AP reports.

ICYMI: Last Weekend on Lawfare

Mikhaila Fogel, Quinta Jurecic, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn and Benjamin Wittes offered an analysis of Attorney General Barr’s summary of the Mueller report and what may lie ahead. Jurecic shared Barr’s summary itself.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast: Culper Partners Rule of Law Series in which David Kris and Nate Jones spoke with former Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) on congressional intelligence oversight.

Benjamin Wittes discussed how to understand (or not) Attorney General Barr’s announcement that Mueller had completed his report.

Michael S. Smith, II wrote in the Foreign Policy Essay on a failed coup within the Islamic State and the coalition’s missed opportunity to exploit the internal unrest.