Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Subscribe to receive this newsletter directly to your inbox.

Newly released audio reveals that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Rep. Liz Cheney that he would urge then-President Trump to resign in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, reports NBC News. McCarthy also reportedly told Cheney that he believed an effort to impeach Trump would pass in the House and possibly the Senate. According to the phone call audio, McCarthy said, “The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.” Hours before the audio of the call was released, McCarthy claimed that the New York Times’ reporting on the content of the phone call was “totally false and wrong.” New audio of a House Republican conference call released today also includes McCarthy saying that Trump had accepted some responsibility for the events of Jan. 6, according to CNN.  The content of the call includes McCarthy recalling a conversation with Trump on Jan. 11, 2021, saying, "I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that." 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is expected to testify about her alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, writes ABC News. Rep. Greene is in the midst of a lawsuit by a group of Georgia voters that claim she is disqualified from running for reelection under Section 3 of the 14th amendment of the U.S. constitution. Section 3 of the 14th amendment prohibits any individual who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from running for federal or state office. Rep. Greene is the first member of Congress to publicly testify about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

Donald Trump Jr. is expected to meet with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to ABC News. Trump Jr. will appear before the panel voluntarily. Trump Jr.’s fiancee—Kimberly Guilfoyle—met with the committee earlier in the week. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the United States is working with Ukraine to collect evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces, reports the Hill. During a press briefing, Garland told reporters that he was in contact with the Ukrainian prosecutor general and that the United States is working with a group of international allies to gather and preserve evidence of potential war crimes committed in Ukraine. 

Satellite images show a mass burial site in the Russian-occupied village of Manhush near Mariupol, Ukraine, writes the Washington Post. The images depict more than 200 newly dug plots in an existing cemetery in the village. Maxar Technologies estimates that the new plots were dug in between March 23 and March 26. Since then, more graves have reportedly appeared. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol wrote on Facebook that the images are “direct evidence of war crimes and attempts to cover them up.” 

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, according to the New York Times. Hernández is accused of participating in a “corrupt and violent drug trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States.” According to prosecutors, Hernández pocketed the money he made from drug trafficking and used it to finance his political campaigns and commit voter fraud. 

Firearms were the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020, reports NBC News. In 2020, more than 4,300 teens and children died from gun-related incidents, a 29 percent increase from the previous year. According to a research letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine, guns killed more people aged one through 19 than car crashes, drug overdoses or cancer.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Evely Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Taylor Lorenz about the quirks of a culture shaped in conversation with algorithms, internet culture, political life in the United States and more. 

Jaime Lopez and Brady Worthington explained the status of Ukraine’s case against Russia at the International Court of Justice. 

David Priess shared an episode of Chatter in which he sits down with Shane Harris and Alex Finley to discuss Finley’s career in the CIA's Directorate of Operations, her keen observation and analysis of Russian oligarchs' mega-yachts and her experience writing a series of spy satire novels. 

Antti Ruokonen explained why Finlandization is a terrible model for Ukraine. 

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. Check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.