Today's Headlines and Commentary

President Obama has expanded sanctions on Russia just as President Putin formally completed Russia's annexation of Crimea. The New York Times reports that Obama has blacklisted a bank and “several wealthy businessmen” that have close ties with Putin. Meanwhile, military officials are warning the President Putin is seeking to expand Russian influence in Latin America. Russia is apparently planning to build army bases in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and Putin has already begun sending navy ships and long-range bombers to the area, according to the Hill. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has released a report that shows a “leap” in asylum applications to Europe from “industrialized” countries, such as Syria, Russia and Afghanistan. The latter, which previously held the top spot as a country producing asylum seekers, has been pushed down to third behind Syria and Russia, respectively. The AP has more on the report. The Wire reports that Iran is building a fake U.S. aircraft carrier. The reasons behind the construction are unclear; odds are good that the item will be used for propaganda purposes. Members of the Taliban carried out a gun raid on a hotel in Kabul. The Chicago Tribune reports that the gunmen killed nine people, including Sardar Ahmad, a reporter for Agence France Press, his wife, and two children. The site of the attack was the Serena Hotel, which serves many influential Afghan politicians and U.N. officials. The assailants were shot dead at the scene. Congress is increasing its pressure on the CIA. The AP reports that Senator Feinstein’s accusation that the CIA searched Congressional computer networks has resulted in the launch of an investigation by the Senate's Sergeant at Arms. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the CIA’s actions “indefensible” and questioned the CIA’s counter-accusations that Senate staffers had hacked into CIA computer networks. Reuters also has the story. President Obama will meet with several tech CEOs on Friday. Politico reports that the president will discuss “privacy, technology and intelligence” at the meeting with the CEOs, which is speculated to include the heads of Google, Yahoo and Facebook. A senior government lawyer has said that it would be highly “impractical” if the NSA were to seek court approval every time it wanted to obtain an American’s data. The Washington Post explains that Robert S. Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board that seeking such authorization would impose a significant burden, and inconvenience not only the NSA, but also the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as well.  Litt said he suspected the latter would end up “extremely unhappy” if this kind of policy were implemented. The high profile military trial of General Jeffrey Sinclair came to an end yesterday. The Times explains that General Sinclair, who had been accused of numerous counts of sexual misconduct, was reprimanded---but not sentenced to serve any jail time, or forced to abandon his post in the military. The Daily Beast takes a look at how General Sinclair---who was facing life imprisonment---ultimately was able to “walk free."  Time says this case serves to highlight the Army’s problems with sexual assault.  The Hill describes the backlash to the decision. In transparency news, it appears that Turkey has banned Twitter.  The Post reports.   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.