Today’s Headlines and Commentary

A new Chinese review of coronavirus deaths raised the official toll in Wuhan by 50% to 3,869 deaths, confirming suspicions that many more people died than the official figure previously showed, reports the Associated Press.

President Trump yesterday unveiled broad guidelines for states to follow as they consider reopening their economies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Washington Post. The three-phased guidance provides governors with a list of criteria to lift social distancing measures. To begin reopening, governors must first show that coronavirus cases in their state are decreasing.

Africa could see 300,000 deaths from COVID-19 this year even in the best-case scenario, according to a new report today from the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, writes the Associated Press. In the worst-case scenario, over 3 million people could die on the continent.

The Navy misreported certain details of the circumstances that led to the firing of U.S. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier reports the Washington Post. Crozier actually addressed the email warning of a coronvavirus outbreak onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to three Admirals and copied seven Captains— which differs from former acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly’s assertion Crozier sent it to the “20 or 30” people. Defense Secretary Mark Esper yesterday said he has “an open mind” to the possibility of reinstating Crozier, according to the Hill.

The federal judge overseeing the criminal case against Roger Stone yesterday refused to grant him a new trial, rejecting the defense’s argument that the jury forewoman had an improperly concealed bias against Stone, writes the New York Times. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for D.C. ordered Stone to surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons as soon as he is notified to do so.

President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen will be released from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 among inmates, reports to Politico.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Elliot Setzer shared a brief from the House Judiciary Committee in the en banc rehearing of the McGahn subpoena case.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview with Camille François, the Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika, on the ABCs of disinformation and a new report on coronavirus disinformation.

Constanze Stelzenmüller and Sam Denney argued that COVID-19 is a severe test for Germany’s postwar constitution.

Bruce Riedel reviewed Kim Ghattas’s new book “Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East.”

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared an episode of the National Security Law Podcast discussing President Trump’s powers to adjourn Congress and reopen the economy.

Joakim Reiter argued that after the COVID-19 pandemic passes, the Trump administration’s insistence that allies ban Huawei will grow even harder to sell.

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.