Today’s Headlines and Commentary

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A federal judge ruled that an effort by Georgia voters to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for reelection can proceed, reports the New York Times. The effort to disqualify Greene is based on Section 3 of the 14th amendment which prohibits any individual who participates in an insurrection or rebellion from running for federal or state office. Georgia voters allege that Rep. Greene played an integral role in the Jan. 6 violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and should thus be barred from reelection. A representative for Rep. Greene rebuffed the claim and described the effort to disqualify the representative as “fundamentally antidemocratic.” 

Kimberly Guilfoyle—fiancée of Donald Trump Jr. and former Trump aide—appeared before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Monday, writes CNN. The Jan. 6 committee reportedly questioned Guilfoyle about her alleged involvement in the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Guilfoyle spoke at the rally, allegedly raised money for the event, and spent time with former President Trump and his family members on the morning of the attack. The former Trump aide was originally subpoenaed by the select committee in February. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia initiated its battle for the Donbas region weeks after its troops withdrew from the area surrounding Kyiv, Ukraine to regroup and reassess its military strategy, according to the Hill. In an address to the Ukrainian people, Zelenksyy said, “It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive. No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves.” The Ukrainian Defense Ministry also reported on Twitter that Russia’s “genocidal army” is concentrating in eastern Ukraine and is launching rocket attacks, bombings and artillery shelling. 

The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice that announced the expansion of a program that allows undocumented Ukrainians living in the U.S. to temporarily stay and work in the country, reports the New York Times. The notice specified that Ukrainians that have been in the U.S. since April 11 or before are eligible to apply for temporary protected status. According to Citizenship and Immigration Services, approximately 60,000 Ukrainians in the country are eligible for the humanitarian designation. 

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen will boycott multiple meetings of the G-20 nations conference in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes the Washington Post. Yellen will reportedly attend the opening session of the G-20 finance ministers’ meeting in support of the Ukrainian finance minister, but will not attend other sessions if a representative from Russia is present. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is anticipated to join the meetings virtually.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its projections for world growth by the most since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and predicted faster inflation as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s reinstatement of coronavirus lockdowns, according to Bloomberg News. The IMF predicts that global expansion will decrease to 3.6 percent in 2022 from the previous projection of 4.4 percent made in January before Russia invaded Ukraine. The IMF also reports that inflation will rise to 5.7 percent in advanced economies and 8.7 percent in emerging and developing economies. The pace of consumer-price increases are also projected to slow to 2.5 percent for advanced economies and 6.5 percent in developing ones. 

The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of the Treasury released a joint advisory on cyber threats from a North Korean group state sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) group, reports the Hill. The advisory warns that members of the group targeted cryptocurrency trading companies, play-to-earn crypto video games and individual holders of non-fungible tokens, among other cryptocurrency organizations and affiliates. Members of the APT groups reportedly used communication platforms to encourage users of these crypto-affiliated sites to download malware disguised as cryptocurrency applications. Once the fake applications were downloaded, APT group members were able to gain access to targets’ networks and sensitive data and also the ability to exploit gaps in user security. In the advisory, the agencies offered tactics, techniques, procedures and indicators of compromise that were intended to help stakeholders in the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency industry “identify and mitigate cyber threats against cryptocurrency.”

A federal judge overturned a mandate instated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that required face masks be worn on public transportation and in transportation hubs, writes NBC News. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for the Middle District of Florida ruled that the mandate was “unlawful” and “violates the procedures required for agency rulemaking.” Since Judge Mizelle’s ruling, several airlines, Amtrak, Uber and Lyft have all announced that they will no longer require their passengers to wear facial coverings. An official from the Biden administration also confirmed that the Transportation Security Administration will no longer require masks on public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast which features a discussion between  Jacob Schulz sat down with Scott R. Anderson about Anderson’s new piece in Politico in which he argues that if Congress really wants to safeguard against vulnerabilities in the presidential election, it can't just reform the process for counting electoral votes.

Alyza Sebenius summarized discussions held at the U.S. Cyber Cyber Command’s annual legal conference.

Nicol Turner Lee shared an episode of TechTank in which Lee and Freeman Hrabowski unpacked the challenges of having a more inclusive tech workforce and discussed a pathway toward student success and professional achievement for under-represented students and professionals.

Alan Z. Rozenshtein posted a call for papers for the second annual Cybersecurity Law and Policy Scholars Conference at the University of Minnesota Law School. 

Rohini Kurup and Katherine Pompilio posted the unclassified portion of the annual report on the legal and policy frameworks for U.S. use of military force and related national security operations for 2021 required by Section 1264(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2018. 

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