Stories We’re Watching

British MPs Vote Down Brexit—Again

Earlier today, British MPs voted down the Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May spent months negotiating with the EU. Now, they will have only three days to revise the plan or create a Brexit Plan B. In London, mass demonstrations have erupted outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Given the uncertainty of a planless exit, there’s been a renewed focus on approving a deal prior to the exit at the end of March 2019. Meanwhile, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Poland have begun drafting bilateral immigration deals to allow British nationals to remain should the UK exit in a ‘no-deal’ scenario.

• BBC: The multiple meanings of the vote
• Vox: Theresa May’s Brexit deal is on the verge of defeat
• Bloomberg: Ministers Plan Call With UK Business After Vote: Brexit Update
• The Guardian: No-deal Brexit: Poland and Czech Republic to allow Britons

Barr’s Confirmation Hearing before the Senate Begins

The Senate Judiciary Committee began the confirmation hearings on William Barr’s attorney general nomination. Prior to the hearing several lawmakers had questioned his intentions for the special counsel’s investigation into the president. Mr. Barr reassured the committee that he would allow Mueller to continue his investigation. Barr previously served as attorney general under George HW Bush. Legal analysts have expressed unease over Barr’s past memos which argue for radical interpretation of executive powers as well as his past actions such as detaining immigrants in HIV prison camps.

• Lawfare: Lessons from Watergate: What the Senate Judiciary Committee Should Ask Bill Barr
• Daily Beast: William Barr, Trump’s AG Nominee, Held Immigrants in ‘HIV Prison Camp’
• Vox: Lindsey Graham asks about debunked right-wing conspiracies
• NPR: William Barr Supported Pardons In An Earlier DC ‘Witch Hunt’

US Charges Ukrainian Hacker for Infiltrating Database of the FURLOUGHED SEC

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against a Ukrainian hacker and six traders in Ukraine, Russia, and California for a hacking into an SEC database and using the info for illegal trading. Investigators claim the the group was responsible for earlier hacks, and that this time the group made over $4m in illegal profits. The charges come amid growing Russia-Ukraine-US tensions and the longest government shutdown in US history. As we reported last week in DeepTech, the SEC has ceased most operations due to the shutdown.

• US SEC: SEC Brings Charges in Edgar Hacking Case official
• Bloomberg: SEC Sues Same Group Behind Press Release Hack
• CNBC: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions
• Bloomberg Law: Ukrainian Hacker Infiltrated SEC to Make Trades, Feds Say

Germany Launches Anti-extremism Probe into Far-right Party

German authorities will begin monitoring the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and are considering whether to add the party to the state’s official watchlist. Officials have called elements of the AfD party “a threat to the liberal democratic principles of Germany’s constitution”. AfD first entered Germany’s lower house of parliament in the 2017 general elections, winning nearly 13% of the vote. The current investigation follows the arrest of a 20-year-old German citizen who doxed hundreds of German lawmakers—but did not target members of the far right. The EU has recently stepped up their efforts to combat fake news—last month, regulators announced that Google, Facebook, and Twitter would be required to give monthly updates on Russian disinformation activities.

• Financial Times: German spy agency to monitor far-right group within AfD
• Deutsche Welle: AfD worker accused of ordering arson attack in Ukraine
• Buzzfeed: The Guy Who Allegedly Doxed Hundreds Of German Politicians Is A 20-Year-Old
• Vice: US tech companies will have to file monthly reports on Russian fake

Pompeo to Hold Talks with North Korean Official

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has wrapped up his Middle East tour and is next set to meet with a senior North Korean official later this week to discuss the logistics of a second US-North Korea summit. Over the weekend, President Trump sent a personal letter to the North Korean Supreme Leader–the contents of which are not yet known. Early reports indicate that the second summit is likely to take place next month in Vietnam. Meanwhile, back in DC, President Trump served over a thousand ‘hamberders’ to US footballers.

• Reuters: Pompeo to hold talks with North Korea this week
• The Atlantic: What Kissinger Knew That Pompeo Does Not
• The Diplomat: Why Vietnam Should Host the Second Trump-Kim Summit
• MarketWatch: Trump sends Kim letter ahead of possible US-North Korea talks

From Deep State Radio

PODCAST: Well, If It Isn’t a Brand New Bouncing Baby Constitutional Crisis!

We’re finally getting there folks.  It is not the government shutdown.  It is not the hyper-politicization of everything.  But thanks to Donald Trump and recent revelations about the Russia probe, we may be getting to a point where even persnickety legal experts like our own Rosa Brooks acknowledge that America is on the verge of a constitutional crisis.  A big one.  The likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.  Join Rosa, Kori Schake of IISS, David Sanger of the New York Times and Evelyn Farkas of the German Marshall Fund for a discussion of the latest bombshells that have helped bring the impending crisis into clearer view. Tune in!

EARLY ACCESS
PODCAST: Roomba for President 2020

Trump may be a disaster as a person and as a president.  But he may also be triggering a rebirth in American political thought and a flowering of new policy ideas.  The progressive branch of the Democratic Party is in the lead at the moment, but with so many areas demanding rethinking, the ferment may spread and we may all be the beneficiaries.  How?  Tune in to our discussion among Georgetown’s Rosa Brooks, the Financial Times’ Ed Luce, IISS’s Kori Schake and the New York Times’ David Sanger to discuss new ideas, why they’re happening and why their may be a silver lining to the shit storm we are dealing with every day. Listen here!