Week In The News: Assange Arrested, Security Shakeups, AG Barr And More

With David Folkenflik

Julian Assange arrested. A purge in Homeland Security. An Attorney General, grilled. A big vote in Israel. Guilty pleas and more in the college cheating scandal. The roundtable is bursting.

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Vivian Salama, White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal. (@vmsalama)

Richard Engel, chief foreign correspondent for NBC News. Host of "On Assignment with Richard Engel," with new episodes Sunday nights this month on MSNBC. (@RichardEngel)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

Wall Street Journal: "White House Seeks Tighter Grip on Immigration Policy" — "President Trump is shaking up the top ranks of the Department of Homeland Security and has instructed White House advisers to take a more direct role implementing immigration policy in an effort to slow the rise in families illegally crossing the southern border.

"Those efforts accelerated Sunday with the departure of Kirstjen Nielsen as secretary of the sprawling agency that oversees the U.S.’s immigration and national-security apparatus.

"Mr. Trump in recent days privately signaled he may oust the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Last week, he pulled his nominee to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Randolph Alles, the Secret Service director who the White House said was departing on Monday, said in a memo to his staff that the administration had told him weeks ago that 'transitions in leadership should be expected across the Department of Homeland Security.' "

Washington Post: "Julian Assange arrested in London, accused by U.S. of conspiring in 2010 WikiLeaks release" — "Nearly seven years after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, Ecuador revoked his asylum Thursday. Here is what has happened since.

"London’s Metropolitan Police entered the embassy and arrested Assange 'on behalf of the United States.'

"Assange was found guilty in a British court of breaching bail in 2012.

"A U.S. federal court unsealed a 2018 indictment charging Assange with conspiring to hack a Defense Department computer in order to publish classified U.S. documents."

NPR: "Citing 'Spying' On Trump, Barr Says He Is Looking Into Origins Of Russia Inquiry" — "Attorney General William Barr has launched his own informal inquiry about the origins of the Russia investigation, he confirmed to senators on Wednesday.

"Barr told members of a Senate Appropriations Committee panel that he wants to understand how and why key decisions were made about the counterintelligence investigation opened by the FBI in the summer of 2016.

"He said he isn't 'putting a panel together' and the effort may not result in a criminal investigation or the finding of a crime."

Tania Ralli produced this hour for broadcast.