Sued by the State, Judged by the State
A draft law before China’s legislature would let prosecutors sue foreign firms over an undefined “national interest,” in courts the prosecution itself supervises.
The Subpoena Detective: A Dispatch From the Times Hearing
On jets, journalism, and a judge.
The AI Sovereignty Paradox
Powering Data Centers and the Permitting Problem
What They Want to Hear: The Politicization of U.S. Intelligence
Highlights
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The AI That Hacked Its Way Out and the Hype That Followed It
The real lesson of the Hugging Face breach isn't that AI went rogue—it's how self-serving hype steers regulators toward the wrong fixes. -
Sued by the State, Judged by the State
A draft law before China’s legislature would let prosecutors sue foreign firms over an undefined “national interest,” in courts the prosecution itself supervises. -
The Subpoena Detective: A Dispatch From the Times Hearing
On jets, journalism, and a judge. -
The AI Sovereignty Paradox
How shifting strategic interests are reshaping cyber sovereignty in international law. -
Powering Data Centers and the Permitting Problem
The Justice Department’s bid to nix a Clean Air Act suit against xAI’s turbines shows how security claims reshape energy permitting. -
What They Want to Hear: The Politicization of U.S. Intelligence
A campaign of firings and clearance revocations is teaching the intelligence community that silence is the only job security. -
The Rip Van Winkle Court
Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. We dive into DOJ’s awakening of a controversial court. -
Tokyo’s Nuclear Dilemma
Would a nuclear-armed Japan be a deterrence shortcut or a source of instability? -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
When Reporting an AI Security Incident Is Not Mandatory
A recent AI security incident during a frontier model internal evaluation demonstrates the need for better information sharing requirements. -
Legalism Mission Creep
A review of Doyle K. Hodges, “The Rise of US Military Legalism: A New Theory of Military Professionalism” (Routledge, 2026). -
Knives Are Out for Open-Weight AI Models
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
The Monroe Doctrine Was Never a Blank Check for Presidential War
Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” in Latin America inverts a policy that, properly understood, abided by and reinforced constraints on unilateral presidential force. -
Why U.S. Technology Controls Keep Faltering, and How to Save Them
Current export controls are the worst of both worlds: Key technology leaks to China, while controls weaken U.S. firms’ incentive to invest. -
When Commercial Satellites Become Wartime Intelligence
Commercial satellite imagery now serves accountability and military operations, but the law has not caught up.
Featured Podcast
Live Coverage
For real-time updates of Lawfare’s coverage of the Trump administration’s legal challenges, follow on Bluesky or below:
What's Old Is New Again
With every new administration comes new promises and new actions on national security. But what’s “new” has often been proposed or even tried before—which means there’s a good chance Lawfare has already analyzed some of the legal and policy implications they present. So we’re making that past content readily accessible as it becomes newly relevant.
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The Return of Schedule F
The Trump administration has proposed new rules to remove due process protections for thousands of federal employees. -
Donald Trump and the Department of Justice
On the loyalty of lawyers and the attitude of voters -
Trump’s Attacks on Justice Department Independence, Then and Now
What the first Trump administration carried out slowly, the new administration is doing at once.
Documents
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White House Releases Executive Orders on Quantum Computing
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White House Releases Executive Order on AI
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Former Cuban President Raúl Castro Indicted
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Trump Administration Releases 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
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Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges
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U.S. Government Agrees to $1.25 Million Settlement in Michael Flynn Suit
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Trump Signs Executive Order Purporting to Restrict Mail-in Voting
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ODNI Releases 2026 Threat Assessment
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Lawfare Daily: Dispatches from the 2026 Aspen Security Forum
Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien hosted a series of conversations from the 2026 Aspen Security Forum. -
Lawfare Daily: Investigating Atrocities in Post-Assad Syria
Commissioner on the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria Fionnuala Ní Aoláin discusses her work. -
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, July 24
Listen to the July 24 livestream as a podcast.
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Other Podcasts 
Videos & Webinars
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, July 24
Explore
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The Monroe Doctrine Was Never a Blank Check for Presidential War
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Lawfare No Bull: Confirmation Hearing for Director of National Intelligence Nominee Jay Clayton
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The Unbearable Lightness of a Todd Blanche Confirmation Fight
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Congress Should Do Something: The Case for (Fixing) the Great American AI Act
The Lawfare Institute:
Hard National Security Choices
Lawfare is a non-profit multimedia publication dedicated to “Hard National Security Choices.” We provide non-partisan, timely analysis of thorny legal and policy issues through our written, audio, and other content—all of which you can find here.


