Today's Headlines and Commentary

In a second day of congressional budget hearings, Attorney General Bill Barr said he will review the genesis of the FBI counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, NBC News reports. Barr said that “spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” noting that the “question is whether it was [...] adequately predicated.” Walking back his remarks, Barr later said that he was “not saying if improper surveillance occurred,” clarifying that he was “concerned” and would look into the situation.

Preliminary results suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to win his fourth consecutive term after a close race, according to the New York Times.

Manhattan federal prosecutors interviewed close associates of President Donald Trump, including aide Hope Hicks and security chief Keith Schiller, as part of their campaign finance investigation into hush money paid to women who allegedly had affairs with Trump, the Wall Street Journal reveals.

A Texas teenager was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism charges relating to an Islamic State-inspired plot to open fire at a Texas mall, the Dallas Morning News details.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Steve Vladeck analyzed recent departures of Department of Homeland Security leadership in light of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Stephanie Zable unpacked the lawsuit filed by Chinese telecom giant Huawei against the U.S.

Andrew Patterson summarized the federal court decision halting the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.

Doug Stephens discussed recent China-Philippines tensions, a U.S. Navy cybersecurity review and more for the monthly Water Wars series.

Jen Patja Howell shared a new episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring a conversation from National Security Institute with former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers on U.S. policy on Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Lev Sugarman posted a livestream of Attorney General Bill Barr’s testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.

Sugarman shared multiple documents: transcripts from the House Judiciary and Oversight committee’s interviews with former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker, charging documents filed by the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office against a man who plotted a vehicular attack inspired by the Islamic State, and a criminal complaint and supporting affidavit charging a man for threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Mn.).