Today’s Headlines & Commentary

Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered a statement on the investigation he led into Russian interference in the 2016 election, in which he reiterated his investigative findings and analysis, resigned from the Justice Department and formally closed the special counsel’s office.

United States national security adviser John Bolton argued that Iran likely played a key role in recent attacks on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, reports the New York Times, staking out a more hawkish stance than President Trump did in comments earlier this week, in which the president stated that the U.S. is not seeking regime change in Iran.

New York Southern District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos delayed enforcement of congressional subpoenas for Trump’s banking records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One while an appeals court reviews the ruling, according to the Washington Post.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell commented that he would consider a Supreme Court nomination should a seat become vacant during the 2020 election campaign, reports NBC.

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas seeking a quick judgment on whether its challenge against a federal law restricting its business in the U.S. should be dismissed, reports the Wall Street Journal.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Max Smeets addressed the potential impact of Cyber Command’s new strategy of “persistent engagement” on U.S. alliance relationships.

Quinta Jurecic shared the general counsel of the Department of Defense’s keynote address at the Israel Defense Forces 3rd International Conference on the Law of Armed Conflict .

Jim Baker and Susan Landau highlighted two recent reports on the future of encryption, focusing on “user-controlled” encryption and quantum computing, as it relates to law enforcement’s access to data.

David Kris and Benjamin Wittes analyzed the president’s unusual delegation of declassification authority to the attorney general.

Stewart Baker shared the latest episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, in which Paul Rosenzweig, David Kris and Gus Hurwitz discussed China Tech Fear and what Baker calls “cheap fakes.”

Jen Patja Howell shared the Lawfare Podcast, featuring a discussion at last month’s Verify Conference where Avril Haines, Eric Rosenbach and David Sanger talked about U.S. offensive cyber operations.

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