A coalition of 16 states, including California, New York, Maryland, and Illinois, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday over President Trump's attempt to use emergency powers to build a wall along the souther border. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the states argue that Trump cannot construct the wall without permission from Congress, and it is unconstitutional for him to divert money designated for other purposes. The suit also states that the "federal government's own data prove there is no national emergency at the southern border that warrants construction of a wall. Customs and Border Protection data show that unlawful entries are near 45-year lows."

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave the Justice Department in mid-March, a department official told Reuters on Monday. It was anticipated that he would step down after a new attorney general was chosen; last week, William Barr was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as attorney general. In May 2017, Rosenstein appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and any ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

While testifying in front of the North Carolina State Board of Elections on Monday, a woman admitted to falsifying absentee ballots in November, after being hired by a political operative working on behalf of Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris. Due to allegations of fraud, the race in North Carolina's 9th district is still undecided, with Harris ahead of Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. During her testimony, Lisa Britt said she was hired by her stepfather, McCrae Dowless, to collect absentee ballots, and when she came across one that was unsealed or not fully filled out, she checked off the Republican candidates. The hearing is expected to last two or three days, and upon its conclusion, the board will decide to certify the election or hold a new one.

While speaking in Miami on Monday, President Trump said the Venezuelan military "must not" follow President Nicolas Maduro's orders to block humanitarian aid from coming into the country, and they are "risking their future" by supporting him. Venezuela is dealing with hyperinflation, and many people aren't getting enough food, medicine, and other basic necessities. Trump said the U.S. delivered aid two days ago, but it's stuck in Colombia because "Maduro has blocked this life-saving aid from entering the country. He would rather see his people starve than give them aid. Maduro is not a Venezuelan patriot, he is a Cuban puppet." Trump wants the military to start backing opposition leader Juan Guaido, who says that last year's election was a sham and he is the interim president.

On Monday night, Roger Stone took down an Instagram post with a crosshairs symbol next to the head of the U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the judge overseeing his criminal case in Washington, D.C,. and filed a notice of apology with the court. The photo and comment were "improper," he acknowledged, and he "recognizes the impropriety and had it removed." In the post's caption, Stone, a longtime Republican operative and adviser to President Trump, wrote that Special Counsel Robert Mueller used "legal trickery" to ensure that his criminal trial for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction went before Berman Jackson. He said in a subsequent post that he did not intend to threaten the judge.