Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Asylum Ban

MUELLER’S TEAM SAYS WHITAKER APPOINTMENT HAS NO IMPACT ON SPECIAL COUNSEL’S LEGITIMACY
The appointment of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker does not affect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s eligibility to lead the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the special counsel’s team said in a court filing Monday. Mueller’s office was responding to an inquiry from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in a case brought by Andrew Miller, an associate of Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Trump. The case challenges the constitutionality of Mueller’s position.

After oral arguments this month, a three-judge panel asked Mueller and Miller to address implications for the case of the forced resignation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general and the president’s selection of Whitaker to succeed him until a permanent attorney general is chosen. Whitaker is now supervising the special counsel probe and facing separate court challenges over whether his appointment is valid. “The designation has no effect on the case,” Mueller’s team said of Whitaker’s new position. “The validity of the Special Counsel’s appointment cannot be retroactively affected by a change in the official who is serving as the Acting Attorney General,” the 17-page legal brief said.

Miller, a former assistant to Stone, is trying to block a grand jury subpoena from Mueller and has refused to testify. Miller is arguing that the special counsel’s office cannot subpoena him because Mueller was not appointed by the President nor confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His attorney said Monday that Whitaker’s replacement of Sessions does not affect Miller’s argument. The three-judge panel of the DC Circuit is examining whether Mueller is a “principal officer” who requires appointment by the president and Senate confirmation or an “inferior” one who can be appointed by the head of a department. In recent rulings, two district court judges in Washington have upheld the constitutionality of Mueller’s appointment. CNN, Politico, Washington Post

Trump expected to give troops authority to protect border personnel: President Donald Trump is expected to grant new authority to U.S. troops on the Southwest border with Mexico to protect Customs and Border Protection personnel from migrants if they engage in violence, according to U.S. officials. Currently, troops are authorized to act in self-defense but do not have any authorities that would allow them to intervene if CBP personnel came under attack. Sources said the authority would not be about allowing troops to fire at migrants crossing the border. Instead, the new rules will be aimed at providing the basic authorities to allow for protective measures. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security explained, “As Secretary Nielsen has said, we will not allow our frontline personnel to be in harm’s way. We will do everything we can to protect those who defend our nation's sovereignty and secure our border.” CNN

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who is overseeing the U.S. troops sent to the southern border, said Monday that the Pentagon is planning to begin a drawdown of the troops as early as this week. He said he expects the 5,800 active-duty troops sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to be home by Christmas.  “Our end date right now is 15 December, and I've got no indications from anybody that we'll go beyond that,” he said. Politico, The Hill
Related:
Washington Post: U.S. Adds More Barriers, Razor Wire at Mexico Border Amid Fears of a Crowd Surge

Ivanka Trump used personal email account to send messages about government business: Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails last year to White House aides, Cabinet officials, and her assistants using a personal account, many of them in violation of federal records rules, according to people familiar with a White House examination of her correspondence. White House ethics officials learned of her repeated use of personal email when reviewing emails gathered last fall by five Cabinet agencies to respond to a public records lawsuit. The review revealed that throughout much of 2017, she often discussed or relayed official White House business using a private email account with a domain that she shares with her husband, Jared Kushner. A spokesman for Ivanka Trump’s attorney and ethics counsel Abbe Lowell acknowledged that the president’s daughter occasionally used her private email before she was briefed on the rules, but he said none of her messages contained classified information. Washington Post

Trump to give Mueller written answers by Thanksgiving: President Trump could give Special Counsel Robert Mueller written responses to a set of questions as part of the Russia investigation as early as Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers reportedly set an informal Thanksgiving deadline for Trump to finalize his responses to Mueller’s questions. It remains unclear whether Mueller and Trump will reach an agreement on whether the president responds to questions on obstruction of justice. In an interview earlier this month, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Trump’s legal team was engaged in “very sensitive negotiations” with Mueller that could lead to a voluntary interview or another round of written questions. Politico

Law enforcement says Proud Boys group has ties to white nationalism: The male-chauvinist group Proud Boys has been described by federal authorities as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism” and has been the subject of warnings to local police agencies by the FBI, according to a report issued by a Washington State sheriff’s office. The Proud Boys are one of many predominantly male, right-wing groups to emerge since President Trump’s election. They describe themselves as a “Western chauvinist” fraternal group that believes in ending welfare, closing the U.S. borders, and adhering to traditional gender roles. But critics argue that these aims are a subterfuge for racist and hateful beliefs. “The FBI categorizes the Proud Boys as an extremist group with ties to White Nationalism,” the sheriff’s report said. “The FBI has warned local law enforcement that the Proud Boys are actively recruiting in the Pacific Northwest and that some in the group have contributed to the escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses.” Washington Post

White House discusses possible Trump visit to troops in Iraq or Afghanistan: President Donald Trump reportedly told advisers that he may visit troops in a combat zone for the first time in his presidency. Trump has so far declined to visit service members deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, saying he does not want to associate himself with wars he views as failures, according to current and former advisers. In meetings about a potential visit, he has described the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as “a total shame,” according to the advisers. He also cited the long flights and potential security risks as reasons he has avoided combat-zone visits, they said. But questioned last week about why he has not visited U.S. troops deployed in overseas conflicts, Trump suggested during a Fox News interview that a trip was in the works. “There are things that are being planned. We don’t want to talk about it because of security reasons and everything else,” he said. Washington Post

Syrian army says ISIS cleared from southeastern desert: The Syrian army said on Monday that ISIS militants have been cleared from a rugged area in southeastern Syria where they had been holding out for months. In a statement, Syria’s army high command said it had taken full control of the Tulul al-Safa heights. The area was the group’s last stronghold in southern Syria. The Syrian armed forces recovered a large amount of light and medium weaponry, the statement said. Local sources said Sunday that hundreds of ISIS insurgents had withdrawn from that area after holding out for over three months against an offensive. Reuters

Saudi king stands by crown prince over Khashoggi affair as Western pressure increases: King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Monday stood by his son and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, avoiding any mention of the international outrage toward the kingdom in his first public remarks since Saudi agents allegedly killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month. In his annual address to the Shura Council, King Salman stuck to general statements on official Saudi policy, calling on the world to stop Iran’s nuclear program, press for political solutions to the wars in Syria and Yemen, and maintain the fight against terrorism. In a possibly oblique reference to the Khashoggi case, he praised the country’s public prosecutor, whose office is handling the official Saudi investigation into the journalist’s killing, and said Saudi Arabia would “never deviate” from serving justice. BBC, New York Times

For his part, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that claims that the crown prince gave the order to kill Khashoggi were false. “We in the kingdom know that such allegations about the crown prince have no basis in truth and we categorically reject them,” Adel al-Jubeir said. Reuters

Meanwhile, Germany on Monday halted arms sales to Riyadh, including the delivery of 20 warships, and barred 18 Saudis from entering Europe’s border-free Schengen zone in response to Khashoggi’s killing. European diplomats say the goal is to ensure that those involved in the Khashoggi killing are held to account. The travel ban comes days after the U.S. barred 17 Saudis from entering the country and imposed sanctions on them. Wall Street Journal

Trump administration prepares to add Venezuela to list of state sponsors of terrorism: The Trump administration is preparing to add Venezuela to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, according to U.S. officials. The list is reserved for governments accused of repeatedly providing “support for acts of international terrorism” and currently includes only Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) have pushed for the designation, citing Venezuela’s alleged ties to Hezbollah, the FARC in Colombia, and other groups. U.S. officials declined to say whether a final decision had been made about the designation, but in recent days the State Department has reportedly asked for feedback on the proposed move from various agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on a number of individuals in Maduro’s inner circle, accusing the first lady, defense minister, vice president, and other allies. Washington Post

EU considers Iran sanctions after foiled plots in France and Denmark: EU foreign ministers met in Brussels and expressed cautious support on Monday for possible new economic sanctions on Iran in the wake of accusations against Tehran for plotting attacks in France and Denmark, diplomats said. France has already imposed sanctions on two Iranians and Iran’s intelligence service over what it says was a failed plot to carry out a bomb attack at a rally near Paris organized by an exiled Iranian opposition group. One option is to establish those asset freezes at an EU-wide level, diplomats said. Denmark, which in October said it suspected an Iranian government intelligence service tried to carry out an assassination plot on its soil, is reportedly also open to EU-wide sanctions. The move came as 150 members of the European Parliament slammed the bloc's “silence” over the plots as well as human rights abuses in Iran and called for steps to hold Teheran to account. Reuters

Three arrested for planning terror attack in Melbourne: Australian police say they have arrested three men who were plotting to commit a terror attack in Melbourne. The group had been attempting to get access to a semi-automatic rifle to kill as many people as possible in a crowded place, authorities said. The suspects were allegedly inspired by ISIS, according to authorities. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the men had not settled on a location for the alleged attack, but said their planning had “escalated” in recent days. “They were certainly looking at a place of mass gathering, where there would be crowds, because they were trying to focus on trying to have a place where they could kill as many people as possible,” he told reporters on Tuesday. Police said the men are Australians of Turkish descent and that two of them are related. Investigators had reportedly been monitoring them since March. BBC, The Guardian

UK needs to do more to manage cyber threats, parliamentary committee says: An absence of political leadership and resources is threatening to undermine the UK’s response to cyber attacks against critical infrastructure such as hospitals, transport networks and energy plants, according to a parliamentary committee. The joint committee on the national security strategy said the government was failing to act with enough urgency in the face of the growing cyber threat from hostile states, including Russia, China, and Iran. Committee members added that the current approach to improving the cyber resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure was “long on aspiration but short on delivery.” The committee said it was “struck by the absence of political leadership at the [center] of government in responding to this top-tier national security threat.” Financial Times

Kremlin backs veteran Russian official as next president of Interpol: The Kremlin is backing a veteran Russian Interior Ministry official to become the next president of Interpol, a development that is raising concerns about the efficacy of the international police agency which critics say authoritarian governments have abused. The potential appointment of Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk, when Interpol’s general assembly votes for its next president in Dubai on Wednesday, has sparked criticism from human-rights groups and government officials who say Moscow has used the organization to pursue political enemies. Interpol’s former president, Hongwei Meng, resigned in October after being arrested by Chinese authorities on corruption charges. “Of course, we support the Russian candidate and want him to be victorious in this election,” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. A U.S. State Department official said Monday that there is “more than one candidate” for the job, but declined to disclose the Trump administration’s preference. Wall Street Journal
Related:
Washington Post: Putin is About to Gain Control of the World’s Main Law Enforcement Organization

Pakistan angered by comments from Trump: Pakistan reacted angrily on Monday to criticism by President Trump that the country had not done enough in return for years of U.S. military aid and that the government had harbored al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In an interview with Fox News this weekend, Trump defended his decision early this year to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid to Pakistan. “I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us,” he said. Trump also alleged that the Pakistani government had known Bin Laden was living in the country before he was killed in a U.S. military raid in 2011. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan responded by saying that Pakistan had suffered enough fighting terrorism on behalf of the U.S. “Now we will do what is best for our people & our interests,” he wrote on Twitter. The exchange has aggravated an already tense relationship between the two countries. New York Times

North Korea blows up guard posts to ease tensions with South: North Korea on Tuesday blew up some of its front-line guard posts as part of an agreement to ease tensions along its heavily fortified border with South Korea, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said. In September, the militaries from the North and South agreed at a leaders’ summit in Pyongyang to eventually dismantle all guard posts inside the wide border. Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it confirmed the dismantling of ten North Korean guard posts on Tuesday. South Korea began dismantling ten of its own guard posts last week. Associated Press