Michael Cohen Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

SENATE OPENS DEBATE ON MEASURE TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR YEMEN WAR
The Senate voted Wednesday to formally begin debating a measure to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The 60-to-37 vote saw 11 Republicans lawmakers, including Trump allies, join their Democratic colleagues in voting to start debating the resolution. The development sets up a likely vote on Thursday to pass the resolution.

The vote came hours after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed House leaders about the agency’s assessment that the Saudi Crown Prince likely ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It was the second time in two weeks that Haspel has given lawmakers a closed-door look at the CIA’s classified examination of Khashoggi’s death. After Haspel briefed senators last week, they accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of complicity in Khashoggi’s death. But senior House members have been far more tight-lipped. When House leaders emerged from the briefing with Haspel on Wednesday, none claimed that her testimony had proved Mohammed’s culpability.

The full House is expected to be briefed Thursday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, who also spoke with senators late last month. Pompeo on Wednesday echoed claims from President Trump that the CIA has not actually determined that the Crown Prince is to blame for Khashoggi’s death. He also repeated the administration’s statement that it is committed to accountability in Khashoggi’s death. Washington Post, The Hill

FBI WARNS OF ESPIONAGE THREAT FROM CHINA
Chinese corporate espionage is a critical national and economic security threat, top federal investigative officials told U.S. senators on Wednesday, issuing stark warnings that Beijing is exploiting U.S. technology in order to develop its own economy. The disclosures, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, came as the Trump administration is reportedly preparing to lay out an unprecedented amount of evidence in the coming days about Chinese spying and hacking operations designed to steal secrets from U.S. companies.

E.W. “Bill” Priestap, head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, along with officials from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, called China’s efforts “the most severe counterintelligence threat” facing the U.S. today. Priestap also disclosed that the FBI has received thousands of complaints about suspicious activity by alleged Chinese government spies at research institutions in the U.S., and that every FBI investigation in these areas has unearthed larger problems.

The hearing came as U.S. private sector and government investigators have found evidence that the Chinese Ministry of State Security, China’s main intelligence agency, was likely behind the hack of Marriott’s Starwood chain hotel reservation system. That breach exposed the private data and travel details of as many as 500 million people. Homeland Security official Christopher Krebs cautioned, however, that the investigation was in its early stages. Privately, other officials said no firm conclusion has been reached. Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
Related:
Wired: If China Hacked Marriott, 2014 Marked a Full-On Assault
Wall Street Journal: China Prepares Policy to Increase Access for Foreign Companies

Judge seeks documents related to Flynn’s 2017 FBI interview: A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Robert Mueller to turn over additional investigative records describing his January 2017 interview with FBI agents, a conversation in which Flynn has admitted he lied. In an order filed Wednesday evening, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan demanded to see the formal FBI records and all other relevant documents detailing Flynn’s interview with the agents in 2017 and agreed to review them under seal. The judge’s request for more information could delay Flynn’s sentencing, which had been scheduled for this week.  Last week, Mueller told the court he was not seeking prison time for Flynn, describing him as a critical cooperating witness in the Special Council’s probe and other ongoing investigations. Sullivan’s order comes a day after Flynn’s attorneys in a court filing made their own case for why their client deserved no prison time. Washington Post

U.S. warns Turkey against military action in Syria: The Pentagon said on Wednesday that unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party would be “unacceptable,” after Turkey said it would launch a new military operation in the region within days to target Kurdish militia fighters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would begin a military operation against the YPG, which Ankara says is a terrorist organization. The Kurdish YPG is a key U.S. ally in the war against ISIS in Syria. “Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as U.S. personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern,” the Pentagon said.

Turkey has already intervened to sweep YPG fighters from territory west of the Euphrates River in military campaigns over the past two years, but it has not gone east of the river, in part to avoid direct confrontation with U.S. forces. “Our target is definitely not American troops. It is the members of terror organization operating in the region. I want to emphasize this,” Erdogan said Wednesday. CNN, Reuters
Related:
Reuters: U.S.-Backed Forces Push Into Last ISIS Stronghold in Syria

Afghan forces abandon district after Taliban pressure: Afghan forces abandoned a remote district in the west of the country to the Taliban after the government failed to resupply dozens of troops stationed there, provincial officials said on Wednesday. Local officials said the Shebkoh district of Farah province, which borders Iran, has been under Taliban siege for months, making it difficult for the government to send reinforcements. Farah has been the scene of intense fighting since the beginning of the year. Afghan officials have accused Iran of providing Taliban insurgents there with money, weapons, and explosives, which Tehran denies. Reuters
Related:
Reuters: Afghan Forces Seek to Press Taliban By Targeting Field Commanders

ISIS militants escape Iraqi jail: Twenty-one prisoners, most of them members ISIS jailed on terrorism charges, broke out of a prison in northern Iraq on Wednesday. Kurdish security officials said Thursday that 15 of them had been recaptured after officials launched a manhunt. The fortified jail of Sosa is located near the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya and includes mainly ISIS militants who have been captured since 2014. It was unclear based on reports how the inmates escaped the secured prison. Reuters

Pompeo urges UN to bar Iran ballistic missile testing: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to prohibit Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests.  Pompeo said Iran’s ballistic missile activity had increased since 2016, adding, “our goodwill gestures have been futile correctives to the Iranian regime’s reckless missile activity and all other destructive behaviors.” He said the U.S. will work to impose prohibitions on Iran’s ballistic missile tests that were in effect before the 2015 nuclear deal. “Iran has been on a testing spree and a proliferation spree, and this must come to an end,” he told reporters after the meeting. He also made a case against lifting the arms embargo on Tehran and called on nations to “establish inspection and interdiction measures” aimed at countering Iran's efforts to circumvent existing arms restrictions. CNN, Washington Post

France declares Strasbourg shooting an act of terrorism, names suspect: A deadly shooting on Tuesday at a crowded Strasbourg street market in France was an act of terrorism, officials said Wednesday, as hundreds of police officers hunted the alleged shooter who they described as a radicalized hometown career criminal. The gunman, who officials identified as Chérif Chekatt, killed at least two people and wounded 12 in the attack. Rémy Heitz, the Paris prosecutor, said at a news conference in Strasbourg that the targets and the suspect’s profile justified the opening of a terrorism investigation. Chekatt was reportedly already known to the French authorities as someone who had been radicalized while in prison for crimes including robbery. He was released from prison in late 2015. More than 700 members of the security forces were searching for Chekatt, the French interior minister said. BBC, New York Times
Related:
The Guardian: Chérif Chekatt: Who is the Strasbourg Shooting Suspect?

Russia to withdraw jets from Venezuela: Two nuclear-capable Russian bombers that flew to Venezuela on Monday as a gesture of support for socialist President Nicolas Maduro will leave on Friday and return to Russia, the White House said, following a diplomatic spat over the visit. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that the planned departure came after the Trump administration spoke with Russian officials. The arrival of the Tu-160 bombers outside Caracas prompted harsh words between Washington and Moscow. The Trump administration has sought to isolate Maduro’s government and has issued sanctions against him and other members of his government. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a Twitter message that the flight was a case of “two corrupt governments squandering public funds, and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced Pompeo’s comments as “unacceptable” and “unprofessional.” Wall Street Journal

UN presses Saudi Arabia on alleged torture of activists: The UN Committee Torture against has urged Saudi authorities to free over a dozen rights activists detained in the kingdom, alleging that some have been tortured or mistreated during interrogation. Given the serious nature of the cases, which the panel said involved “ harassment, intimidation and arrest of human rights defenders and journalists,” the panel asked the kingdom to provide information within 90 days. The panel of ten independent experts also sought information on whether an impartial investigation is underway into allegations that high-level Saudi officials were involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Reuters

China arrests second Canadian in diplomatic feud: China intensified a punitive campaign against Canada over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive by arresting a second Canadian working in the country and announcing on Thursday that both individuals face charges of undermining China’s national security. The diplomatic crisis began when Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, at the request of American prosecutors on charges of bank fraud related to violating sanctions against trade with Iran. In response, China has reportedly detained Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who works for the International Crisis Group, and  Michael Spavor, a writer and entrepreneur who operates a cultural organization that promotes trips into North Korea. New York Times