Today’s Headlines and Commentary

The U.S. State Department is opening three new counterterrorism training centers in Southeast Asia and Africa, the Wall Street Journal reported. Two such centers in the Middle East already train and equip local forces to respond to terrorist threats in their own countries.

Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin rejected Congress’s request for President Trump’s tax returns, said the New York Times. Read the Mnuchin’s full letter.

U.S. officials have said that the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the Middle East over the weekend was made in response to specific intelligence reports about threats from Iran to U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to the Journal.

Hundreds of former federal prosecutors who worked under Democrats and Republicans have signed a letter stating that Special Counsel Mueller’s findings against Trump would have led to an obstruction of justice charge if Trump were not the president, said the Washington Post. Protect Democracy, the group organizing the letter, stated that the letter has more than 650 signatories. (Disclosure: Protect Democracy represents Lawfare editors Benjamin Wittes, Jack Goldsmith, Scott Anderson and Susan Hennessey on a number of separate matters.)

Trump administration economic advisers have accused China of not honoring trade commitments, reported the New York Times. Advisers said the president will increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products on Friday.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Yuval Shany explored what may happen next now that Israel is likely to annex the West Bank.

Bobby Chesney analyzed reports of an Israeli Defense Force strike against a Hamas cyber facility.

Mikhaila Fogel shared the draft contempt citation for Attorney General Bill Barr being considered by the House Judiciary Committee. Fogel also shared Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s letter to Congress, in which he refuses their request for Trump’s tax returns.

Matthew Kahn shared a Lawfare Podcast bonus episode, in which Jack Goldsmith discusses “Of Privacy and Power, The Transatlantic Struggle Over Freedom and Security” with the book’s authors, Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman.

Quinta Jurecic shared the International Criminal Court’s decision in the appeal of Omar al-Bashir.

Stewart Baker posted the latest episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, in which the group discusses facial recognition software, privacy regulations in the EU and California and more.

Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.