As of last week, it has been 16 years since the Guantánamo Bay detention camp was opened by George W. Bush, and the first detainees arrived. Since then, around 780 people have been held at the detention camp. 41 remain.
What's new: The latest hearings for five detainees, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, known as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks," started last Monday.
The bottom line: Since its opening, the prison has been a point of contention for both Republicans and Democrats; during the 2008 campaign both Barack Obama and John McCain said they aimed to close the prison. But, despite pledges on both sides to close it, it's still operating.
President Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly told congressional Democrats on Wednesday that the president's campaign promises about the border wall were "uninformed," the Washington Post reports. Kelly said the U.S. won't construct a physical wall along the entire border with Mexico, despite Trump's claims to the contrary.
The details: Kelly made the comments during a meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, among others, "who have been deeply critical of Trump’s position on immigration policy," the Post reports.
A government shutdown is looking more likely as hardliners in both parties dig in, meaning Congress may not have the votes to pass a spending bill by the end of the week. But again, it's only Wednesday, and there's going to be strong pressure to not let federal funding lapse.
What we're watching: Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are saying they won't back the bill, meaning Republican leaders will need help from Democrats who say they won't offer it. The Democratic base is pressuring its members to hold the line on immigration — and get a solution to DACA included in any spending bill.
Steve Bannon made one conspicuous slip up in his closed-door hearing on Tuesday with the House Intelligence Committee, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the confidential proceedings. Bannon admitted that he'd had conversations with Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and legal spokesman Mark Corallo about Don Junior's infamous meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower in June 2016.
Why it matters: The meeting — and the subsequent drafting of a misleading statement on Air Force One — has become one of the most important focal points of the Russia investigations, both on Capitol Hill and within Robert Mueller's team, because it provides the closest thing that exists to evidence that the Trump campaign was willing to entertain collusion with Russians.
A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday on a lawsuit alleging the Trump administration hasn’t properly prevented aides from using encrypted apps such as Signal that delete messages after they're read, Politico reports. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archive filed the lawsuit last year.
Why it matters: Last February the White House told aides that they must save official messages they send or receive on social media platforms, which the DOJ lawyer said amounts to a ban on encrypted apps. Trump’s Department of Justice wanted to have the case thrown out.
AP "reviewed hundreds of pages of depositions taken of Trump in the past decade":
"The transcripts reveal a witness who is by turns voluble, giving expansive answers far beyond the questions asked; boastful, using unrelated queries to expound on his wealth or popularity; unapologetic, swift to defend incendiary comments or criticized actions; and occasionally combative, once deriding a lawyer for 'very stupid' questions."
Why it matters: "The garrulous style belies the 'just the facts, ma’am' approach many defense lawyers advocate."
"A burst of public acrimony across Capitol Hill ... exposed how much negotiations on immigration ... have been set back since President Trump’s use of a vulgar expression," the WashPost reports in its lead story.
Why it matters: A Friday deadline looms "to pass a new spending bill in time to avert a government shutdown."
Republicans were literally lucky in keeping control of the Virginia legislature last week, with Republican candidate David Yancey's name being pulled out of a bowl to settle a tie that decided the majority.
Why it matters: Virginia isn't the only state with strange tie-breaking traditions. State laws in 27 states prescribe that ties be broken by a drawing of lots, 15 call for a new election and other states call for legislature votes or the governor or election board to decide.
U.S. immigration officials are preparing for the "biggest enforcement action of its kind under President Trump," in which more than 1,500 undocumented immigrants could be arrested in the Bay Area, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
Why it matters: The Chronicle reports that this is meant to send a message "that immigration policy will be enforced in the sanctuary state." It's expected to focus on those previously identified as "targets for deportation," but could include others that agents come across during the operation.
Per the Chronicle, immigration officers from around the country are expected to be "flown in" to assist.
Go deeper: A California judge ruled against Trump's sanctuary city executive order in November.
