March 21

OFAC sanctions Chinese entities under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated multiple Chinese chemical companies and financial entities under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act, targeting supply chains linked to U.S. overdose deaths. The action escalated U.S.-China trade tensions alongside existing tariff disputes.

Biden DOJ sues Apple for smartphone monopoly alleges iPhone ecosystem suppresses competition

The Biden Justice Department files a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging the company illegally maintains a monopoly in the smartphone market through a web of policies that lock consumers and developers into the iPhone ecosystem. The complaint alleges Apple blocks competing apps, restricts cloud gaming and messaging interoperability, suppresses digital wallets that compete with Apple Pay, and degrades messaging quality when users communicate with Android phones (green bubbles). The case is the most significant antitrust challenge to Apple's business model and follows the Biden administration's series of major tech antitrust actions against Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.

U.S. Army establishes first permanent garrison in Poland at Camp Kosciuszko

The U.S. Army activated its first permanent garrison in Poland on March 21, 2023, at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan. The garrison housed V Corps forward headquarters and supported three forward operating sites across Poland, providing base operations for roughly 4,700 permanently stationed troops plus 4,000 rotational forces. It became the eighth U.S. Army garrison in Europe.

Trump supporter Patrick Carlineo calls Omar office threatening to put a bullet in her skull

On March 21, 2019, Patrick W. Carlineo Jr., 55, of Addison, New York, called Rep. Ilhan Omar's congressional office and threatened to kill her: "Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she's a terrorist. I'll put a bullet in her skull." Carlineo was found to possess over 1,000 rounds of ammunition and illegal firearms. He was arrested April 5, 2019. Investigators found that he followed Trump on social media and was motivated by Trump's repeated attacks on Omar. Omar said she had been receiving death threats since Trump's first attacks on her. At sentencing, Omar asked for compassion for Carlineo — and sentenced him to one year and one day in prison.

Clinton invokes executive privilege in Starr investigation; courts partially reject the claim

President Clinton invoked executive privilege on March 21, 1998, attempting to block senior aides Sidney Blumenthal and Bruce Lindsey from testifying before the Starr grand jury about conversations they had with Clinton regarding the Monica Lewinsky matter. Federal courts partially rejected Clinton's claims, with Judge Norma Holloway Johnson finding that independent counsel Kenneth Starr's demonstrated need for the testimony outweighed the privilege claim for the non-lawyer advisors. The rulings established that executive privilege, while constitutionally grounded, cannot shield discussions of personal conduct or obstruction of justice investigations.