Daily News Brief

December 20, 2022

Top of the Agenda

The House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol recommended that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges (WaPo) against former President Donald Trump for his role in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It is the first such referral for a former U.S. president.

The House committee recommended that Trump be prosecuted for insurrection, obstruction of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make a false statement. The Justice Department is conducting its own investigations (AP) of the attack on the Capitol and is not obligated to act on the committee’s referral. If charged, tried, and convicted for insurrection, Trump would be banned (Bloomberg) from holding public office. 

Analysis

“I’m sure the Attorney General will welcome any new evidence the committee sends over, but the authority to indict rests with the executive branch, not Congress,” the University of Baltimore’s Ronald Weich tells Politico.

“Don’t expect to hear much about the [Justice Department’s] progress, as the [department] tends to stay pretty quiet, if not wholly silent, on the details of ongoing investigations until they present them in court,” NPR’s Domenico Montanaro writes. 

Pacific Rim

The bank cut its 2022 growth forecast for China (The Guardian) to 2.7 percent, down from the 4.3 percent predicted in June. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said (Reuters) the possibility of the coronavirus mutating as it spreads through China threatens “people everywhere.”

For Think Global Health, CFR’s Chen Chen looks at vulnerabilities in China’s health-care system.

Taiwan: Authorities opened a probe into the video-sharing app TikTok (Nikkei) over allegations that it is illegally operating in Taiwan. Social media companies based in mainland China are banned from operating on the island.

South and Central Asia

The officials helped smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars out of Afghanistan between mid-2019 and the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, Insider reported. The office of U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani reportedly knew about the smuggling but did not stop it.

Pakistan: Security forces killed the thirty-three militants (Dawn) from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan who had taken over a detention center in the city of Bannu on Sunday, Pakistan’s defense minister said.

Middle East and North Africa

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran has over eighteen times more (UN News) enriched uranium than is allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal, the UN political affairs chief said.

This Backgrounder unpacks the Iran nuclear deal.

Syria: The amount of wheat Syria imported from Russia-occupied Crimea increased seventeen-fold this year, with shipments being transported by vessels under U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia said it restarted operations (AFP) in some towns in the Tigray region after the federal government signed a peace deal with Tigrayan rebels last month.

Sudan: Security forces in the capital, Khartoum, reportedly fired live ammunition (Sudan Tribune) at demonstrators marking four years since the start of pro-democracy protests that led to the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir. At least 155 people were wounded, according to a pro-democracy group.

Europe

From February 15, the price of natural gas will be capped (BBC) at all European trading hubs if prices exceed $191 per megawatt hour for more than three consecutive days.

Belarus/Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko discussed creating a “unified defensive space” (NYT) when Putin visited Belarus yesterday. Ukrainian officials have warned in recent days that Russia could be preparing to attack Ukraine from Belarus.

Americas

Chief Justice John Roberts ordered that a border rule that was set to expire tomorrow must remain in place (CNN) until the Supreme Court considers an appeal by several U.S. states. The Joe Biden administration has attempted to end the policy, known as Title 42, which allows for the immediate expulsion of migrants at the southern U.S. border on pandemic-related grounds.

These graphics explain migration to the United States in 2022.

Brazil: The country’s top court ruled that a budgetary measure (FT) allowing the opaque distribution of funds to lawmakers is unconstitutional. Transparency advocates said President Jair Bolsonaro tried to use the measure to boost his reelection campaign, though it failed.

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