Today’s Headlines and Commentary

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A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia investigating potential criminal interference in the 2020 election issued subpoenas to a number of Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Sen. Lindsay Graham. The seven subpoenas—which also summon Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, Jenna Ellis, and Jacki Pick Deason—were signed by the Fulton County Superior Court judge overseeing the special grand jury, Robert McBurney. The story was first reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that the EU must construct a plan in the event of a complete cut-off of Russian gas amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Leyen said the initial emergency plan will be ready within weeks and will protect against the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of “energy as a weapon.” The announcement comes as the EU moves forward with plans to extend a green energy label to some forms of natural gas and nuclear power amid rising gas prices connected to the war.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, called for help from Turkey to ameliorate the impacts of intense drought afflicting the country. Mohamud issued the call while visiting the country’s middle eastern ally. The effects of the drought could reportedly lead to famine within weeks in parts of the Horn of Africa. Somalia, which was already facing a food shortage primarily due to the war in Ukraine, may be among the most vulnerable in the region if famine were to occur.

After a suspected raid by Boko Haram extremists, 879 inmates broke out of a prison in Abuja, Nigeria. One security guard was killed and three were injured during the prison raid, which transpired while a separate attack targeted an advance convoy of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. A total of 443 inmates are still on the run, with four inmates dead and 16 others injured.

Hackers say they have acquired information on 1 billion Chinese citizens in a data breach of a Shanghai police database. A user on an online hacking forum said they would sell the information for 10 Bitcoin, valued at around $200,000. The leak has not been confirmed by Shanghai police. The Associated Press, which reported on the breach, could not verify the authenticity of data connected to the leak.

Twitter sued the Indian government over its content-removal orders on the platform. The legal face-off comes as India—which is Twitter’s fourth largest market—has made recent attempts to regulate social media companies and censor online content that is critical of the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Twitter complied with the government’s orders when they were issued, which the company described as “arbitrary” and “disproportionate” in the court filing.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Jeff Kosseff and Matthew Schafer discussed the role that state legislatures, state courts, and Congress can play in codifying safeguards around freedom of speech.

Mary Brooks and Sofia Lesmes argued that a new law passed by Congress provides policymakers with an opportunity to make cyber incident and breach reporting requirements more powerful and effective. 

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