Monday's world stories
Jerome Corsi, formerly of InfoWars, expects to be indicted by Mueller investigation
Jerome Corsi, a political commentator who was recently subpoenaed to testify in Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — told ABC News on Monday that he’s expecting an indictment from the special counsel soon.
“I don’t know what they’re going to charge me with. … I think my only crime was that I support Donald Trump. That's my crime, and now I'm going to go to prison for the rest of my life for cooperating with them.”
Details: Corsi was a prominent figure behind the birther conspiracy, which falsely claimed President Obama was born outside the U.S. He has connections to former Trump adviser Roger Stone Jr.
Satellite images show North Korea expanding 16 ballistic missile sites
North Korea has been making improvements to 16 hidden ballistic missile bases even as it has made halting moves to dismantle a major site to appease the United States, according to satellite images reported by the New York Times.
The big picture: The Trump administration has touted great progress in its diplomatic effort to eliminate North Korea's missile program, but evidence available to American intelligence agencies suggests otherwise. Talks between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a top North Korean official were canceled last week due to "a scheduling issue," according to the State Department — but the BBC reported that the meeting was canceled because "the North Koreans didn't get on the plane as planned."
Report: Saudi officials sought to use private companies to kill enemies
Top Saudi officials, including deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri, who was blamed and fired last month for allegedly ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, inquired about assassinating the kingdom's Iranian enemies during a meeting with private businessmen in March 2017, reports the New York Times.
The big picture: The meeting was part of an effort by a group of international businessman to pitch the Saudis on an operation to sabotage Iran's economy. During the discussion, Saudi officials reportedly asked about killing Qassem Soleimani, a general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but were rejected by the businessmen's lawyer. Per the Times, the episode highlights the fact that more than a year before the killing of Khashoggi, officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had increasingly become interested in carrying out high-risk, covert operations targeting the kingdom's enemies.