Tuesday, January 29, 2019
U.S. Sanctions Venezuelan State Oil Company
The Trump administration imposed sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company on Monday, marking the first punitive step by the U.S. to force embattled President Nicolás Maduro to give up power since opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president last week. The sanctions prohibit most American businesses from engaging in transactions with the oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., also known as Pdvsa. Administration officials said the financial penalties are expected to block $7 billion in assets and result in $11 billion in export losses over the next year for Venezuela’s government.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Pdvsa had “long been a vehicle for embezzlement” among top Venezuelan officials and politically connected businessmen. “The United States is holding accountable those responsible for Venezuela’s tragic decline,” he said, adding that the Trump administration would pursue all diplomatic and economic avenues to support Guaidó. Also announcing the new sanctions, National Security Advisor John Bolton urged the Venezuelan military to abandon Maduro and recognize Guaidó’s legitimacy. He said the U.S. would continue to keep all options on the table until Maduro transfers power to Guaidó. Maduro, meanwhile, denounced the sanctions as “unilateral, illegal, immoral and criminal.” He said he had ordered Pdvsa to pursue legal action to retain its assets.
In an interview Monday before the sanctions were announced, Guaidó said his government was making every effort to wrestle control of Venezuela’s international assets, mainly the state oil company. He said the National Assembly estimated that $30 billion had gone missing from the oil company in recent years. “Because of this corruption and bad management of public funds, our first step has been to protect the assets of the country,” he said. CNN, USA Today, New York Times
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The Afghan Taliban stage a comeback: “Even though U.S. officials are announcing ‘agreement in principle’ with the Taliban, the group continues to rely on terror to intimidate the country and get its way,” Fawzia Koofi writes in the Wall Street Journal. “Afghanistan needs enduring support from its international partners, especially the U.S., to secure peace. The Taliban and other terrorist groups, which operate as proxies of larger regional powers, should not be allowed to wreck the hard-won progress of the years since 2001.”
Trump is destroying his own case for a national emergency: “Trump no doubt thinks he looks more reasonable if he gives Congress plenty of time to act before declaring an emergency. He might also think that Congress’s repeated failure to provide funds shows the need for emergency action. The truth is the exact opposite,” Elizabeth Goitein writes in The Atlantic. “By giving Congress time to definitively establish its unwillingness to fund the border wall, Trump is both taking away any legitimate justification for emergency action and proving his intent to subvert the constitutional balance of powers.”
What Robert Mueller and William Barr need to tell us: “A report on the counterintelligence investigation is a report on a threat to America’s national security,” Philip Zelikow writes in the Washington Post. “Our government and citizens are certainly entitled to understand, as best they can, the counterintelligence story: how the Russian government carried out a series of covert operations to intervene in the election of a U.S. president, and how Americans may have encouraged or worked with the foreign agents.”
Mexico stands with migrants. The new U.S. asylum policy must respect their rights: “In accordance to our new migratory policy, one that puts human rights at its core, Mexico will temporarily welcome some migrants seeking asylum in the United States,” spokesman of the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs Roberto Velasco Alvarez writes in the Washington Post. “But in the interest of protecting vulnerable migrants, unaccompanied children and those in poor health conditions will not be accepted into our territory from the United States.”
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U.S. UNVEILS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST HUAWEI
The Trump administration on Monday announced criminal charges against one of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told reporters that a pair of indictments had been unsealed in two separate cases. A Brooklyn grand jury charged Huawei, and its chief financial officer, Wanzhou Meng, with money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. Huawei was also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Meng Wanzhou is being held in Vancouver after Canadian authorities arrested her at the request of the U.S. A separate indictment accuses Huawei of stealing trade secrets from U.S. telecom firm T-Mobile. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the charges “lay bare Huawei's alleged blatant disregard for the laws of our country and standard global business practices.” U.S. officials also reasserted their view that Huawei poses an unacceptable national-security risk due to the potential for the Chinese government to leverage its telecom-equipment gear for espionage capabilities.
Beijing and Washington are engaging in high-level talks this week as part of negotiations intended to walk back trade tensions. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Huawei charges are “wholly separate” from the trade negotiations. Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Reuters
Related:
CNN: China Slams U.S. Over ‘Unreasonable Crackdown’ on Huawei
Wall Street Journal: Big Divides Remain as U.S.-China Trade Talks Resume
New York Times: Intelligence Chiefs Set to Outline Threat of Chinese Cyberspying
Whitaker says Mueller investigation near completion: Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker announced on Monday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is wrapping up his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and whether the Trump campaign cooperated with Moscow. “The investigation is, I think, close to being completed, and I hope that we can get the report from director Mueller as soon [as]vi possible,” Whitaker said. The comments were the first on record from a Justice Department official saying the probe is near completion. NBC News, Washington Post
Barr says he would rather resign than fire Mueller without good cause: William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, told the Senate on Monday he would resign rather than fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller “without good cause.” The comments, in written answers to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, echoed what Barr said during his confirmation hearing on January 15. However, he would not promise to comply with a potential House Judiciary Committee subpoena for the Mueller report, standing by his position that Justice Department standards may prevent the release of Mueller’s final report. Barr also disclosed that he has had “general” conversations with Vice President Mike Pence about the Russia investigation. He said he and Pence have been acquaintances since 2017 and that Mueller’s investigation had been a topic of their “occasional conversations.” USA Today, Bloomberg
Related:
CNN: Bipartisan Duo Unveils Bill to Aid Public Release of Mueller Report
Judge turns down bid to halt 9/11 hearing at Guantanamo: A military judge has turned down a bid to halt a pretrial hearing in the 9/11 terrorism case at Guantanamo. Marine Col. Keith Parrella ruled the weeklong hearing should continue despite objections raised by defense lawyers about the questioning by the FBI of a paralegal who previously worked for one of the defense teams. The paralegal, Army Staff Sgt. Brent Skeete, said in court documents that intelligence agents pointedly asked about defense team dynamics in three days of questioning at Fort Hood, Texas last month. In a sworn affidavit filed in federal court, he said the FBI sought “my opinions of everyone, and lots of other privileged information.” Authorities have not revealed why he was questioned. Defense lawyers feared it may have violated attorney-client confidentiality in the case. Parrella said Monday that no defense team members are under investigation. Associated Press, McClatchy
Immigration authorities detail guidance for sending asylum seekers to Mexico: The Trump administration officially laid out its new policy in a memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that would force migrants seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico while they wait for immigration court proceedings. Customs and Border Protection is instructed to refer migrants who claim they will be persecuted or tortured in Mexico to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for further interviews. Asylum officers are then expected to conduct follow-up interviews in person, via video teleconference or by telephone. If migrants do not meet the threshold, they will be expected to stay in Mexico until their immigration court proceedings. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued policy guidance on implementation of the program on Friday, which prompted the guidance issued on Monday. It is still unclear if the policy will be rolled out across the southern border or only at certain points of entry. CNN
Democrats to question Pentagon leadership on border deployment: Democrats are set to question Pentagon officials about the troop deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday. In the House Armed Services Committee’s first hearing of the new Congress, lawmakers will question Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood and Director of Operations for the Joint Staff Vice Adm. Michael Gilday about the Pentagon’s deployment. Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said he hopes to use Tuesday’s hearing to probe outstanding questions on the border deployment, including what work troops are doing now and how much the mission has cost so far. The Hill
Pentagon, NATO says Afghanistan talks are encouraging: Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said on Monday that there has been “encouraging” progress in talks with the Taliban, although there is no concrete plan yet for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Shanahan told reporters at the Pentagon that he would discuss possible troop drawdown plans after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Hopefully, later on this week, when we get together we can talk about some of the encouraging conversations that are going on with the Taliban,” Shanahan said. “I think it's a bit too early to speculate because what we have to do now is support the efforts to try to find a peaceful solution,” Stoltenberg said when asked if the ongoing talks in Afghanistan include the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.
The lead U.S. negotiator in the talks said Monday that they resulted in the “framework” of a deal in which the Taliban would guarantee that Afghan territory would not be used by terrorists. In return for an American troop pullout, the U.S. wants the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire and to negotiate directly with the government of Afghanistan. The Hill, ABC News
Related:
New York Times: Taliban Talks Raise Question of What U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Mean
CNN: Is The Trump Team Pulling Off a Diplomatic Coup to End America’s Longest War?
Israel’s Netanyahu to eject observers in Hebron: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would eject an international force set up to help safeguard Palestinians in Hebron in the West Bank, accusing the observers of anti-Israel activity. “We will not allow the continued presence of an international force that acts against us,” Netanyahu said in a statement announcing that the Temporary International Presence in Hebron’s (TIPH) mandate would not be renewed. The statement did not elaborate on the alleged misconduct of the force. Conservative Israeli commentators had accused the TIPH of agitating against Jewish settlers who live under heavy Israeli army protection in Hebron. “The Israeli government’s decision means it has abandoned the implementation of agreements signed under international auspices, and given up its obligations under these agreements,” said a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Reuters
UN investigator arrives in Turkey for Khashoggi probe: A UN investigation team arrived in Turkey on Monday to start an inquiry into the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi three months ago inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary killings, met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara at the beginning of the planned weeklong visit. Callamard said the inquiry was her own initiative, independent of the UN or any government. Turkey, however, had repeatedly said that it was considering requesting a UN investigation into the killing due to frustration with Saudi Arabia’s failure to cooperate on a joint inquiry. Callamard’s inquiry is not a full-blown investigation that could lead to prosecutions, but she said she would be making recommendations about how to pursue the case. “I will assess the steps taken by governments to address and respond to the killing, as well as the nature and extent of states’ and individuals’ responsibilities for the killing,” she said. New York Times
UN court judge quits The Hague citing political interference: A senior judge has resigned from one of the UN’s international courts in The Hague citing “shocking” political interference from the White House and Turkey. Christoph Flügge, a German judge, claimed the U.S. had threatened judges after moves were made to examine the conduct of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. He also said that international judges had been “stunned” by National Security Advisor John Bolton’s attacks on the International Criminal Court last year. In addition, Flügge said Turkey’s government had made “baseless” allegations to end the tenure of a Turkish judge, Aydın Sefa Akay, sitting on a UN court known as the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. “Turkey applied its veto against Judge Akay,” Flügge said. “We, the other judges, immediately protested. But his tenure was nevertheless not extended by the UN secretary general. And with that, he’s gone.” Flügge has been a permanent judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia since 2008. The Guardian
France to take 130 foreign fighters back from Syria: About 130 French citizens who fought for ISIS in Syria and are being held by Kurdish forces in the northeast of the country will be returned to France, French media reported on Tuesday. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner would not confirm the details of the report in an interview, but said any returnees would be subject to due process. “The Americans are disengaging from Syria and a certain number of people could be released,” he said. “They will want to come back to France. They are now in Syria and Iraq. I am not master of their destiny. They can come to France, but they will be put in prison and judged.” Bloomberg
Trump administration ready to suspend Russian arms control pact: The U.S. plans to suspend its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia after a deadline passes this weekend, a White House official said Monday. Unless Russia destroys all its ground-launched cruise missiles known as 9M729s, associated equipment, and launchers by February 2, the U.S. will suspend its obligations under the treaty, according to an official who asked not to be identified because a decision has yet to be announced. The official did not say whether the U.S. would also announce a full withdrawal from the INF treaty. Bloomberg, The Hill
Iran says no talks with France on missile development: Iran said on Monday it was not holding talks with France over its ballistic missile development, after Paris said it was ready to impose more sanctions if European attempts to address the program in discussions with Tehran made no progress. “There [have] been no talks, whether secret or not secret, about our missile program with France or any other country,” a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday France was ready to impose further curbs if no progress was made in talks over the program. Reuters
Saudi Arabia plans major infrastructure development: Saudi Arabia unveiled a sweeping plan to develop infrastructure and industry across the country on Monday. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presided over the signing of agreements that will net more than $426 billion in investments by 2030 and add 1.6 million new jobs, according to a government statement. Saudi Arabia’s push for investment in railways, airports, and industrial projects marks its latest effort to break the country’s reliance on crude sales for government income. Bloomberg
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Editor-in-Chief, Karen J. Greenberg, Center on National Security, Fordham Law School
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