Today's Headlines and Commentary

On Monday, House impeachment investigators released the transcripts from closed-door depositions of Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, and Michael McKinley, a former adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, reports the Washington Post.

John Eisenberg, a lawyer alleged to have a role in the Ukraine scandal, and three other White House officials defied congressional subpoenas by failing to testify on Monday, reports the Post.

Mark Zaid, an attorney for the whistleblower, indicated that his client would be willing to answer written questions submitted directly by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee under oath, according to the Post. Zaid also emphasized the need to continue protecting the identity of his client.

The New York Times reports that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko engaged in an elaborate campaign to win over President Trump that included using Paul Manafort as a back channel. Poroshenko was reportedly desperate for help with Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression.

Federal judges in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that President Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA LLP, must hand over eight years of financial documents pursuant to a subpoena filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., reports the Post.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the F.B.I. have reportedly begun a large investigation, involving at least 71 institutions and 180 individual cases, to root out scientists feared to be stealing biomedical research and intellectual property on behalf of other countries such as China, according to the Times.

A U.S. District Court in the District of Oregon temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an order that would require new immigrants to prove they have health insurance or the means to afford it, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Federal authorities in Colorado have arrested Richard Holzer, who was known to promote white supremacy, reports the Times. According to an affidavit unsealed Monday, Holzer took part in an attempted plot to blow up a synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado.

Iraqi security forces killed at least five individuals after opening fire on protesters in Baghdad on Monday. Three additional protesters were killed late on Sunday as they tried to storm the Iranian consulate in the city of Kerbala, according to Reuters.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele ordered the expulsion of all Venezuelan diplomats from his country due to his government’s position that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was no longer legitimate, reports the BBC.

ICYMI: Last Weekend on Lawfare

Jen Patja Howell shared the latest episode of The Lawfare Podcast, in which Bobby Chesney sat down with Stephanie Leutert and Sheriff Benny Martinez to discuss their collaboration on research on migrants who have died trying to evade a border patrol checkpoint by walking in the brush in Brooks County, Texas.

Jessica Brandt considered how emerging challenges in foreign election interference in the U.S. will require bipartisan cooperation.