Terrorism’s Second Act
Assessing the Legal Bases for the Defense Department’s Equity Stakes
The Global Data Center Boom Is a Gift to Spies
A Chinese company doesn’t need to hack Silicon Valley; it can simply rent the server next door.
GPS and the Limits of Control
What AI can learn from Selective Availability, the governance technology once used to pace GPS.
Highlights
-
25 Years of Mass Surveillance is Enough
Twenty-five years since 9/11, tech and political shifts have increasingly pitted mass surveillance against constitutional rights. -
The 25th Anniversary of the 2001 AUMF
It’s not terribly important today. -
America's Driver's License Breach is a National Security Disaster
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
Terrorism’s Second Act
A growing number of convicted terrorists are soon to be released from prison, there’s no plan to address potential recidivism. -
Misunderstanding 9/11
The analytic mistakes made in the aftermath of the attacks still have lessons today. -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Homeland Security 25 Years Later: Time to Rethink and Rebuild?
The DHS constructed by Congress in 2002 is now outdated, reviled by many, and was flawed from the start. Time to rethink and rebuild. -
The Changing Face of the Department of Homeland Security
From hunting al-Qaeda to hunting immigrants. -
Justice in the 9/11 Case is Long Overdue
Political decisions across five administrations have paralyzed the 9/11 cases for 25 years. The Supreme Court can finally help deliver justice. -
Ordinary Origins: How 9/11 Built Today's Immigration Enforcement Machine
Post-9/11 data-sharing systems built for security quietly became the infrastructure for today’s automated immigration enforcement. -
The Unexpected Emergence of the EU as a U.S. Counterterrorism Partner
How the U.S. and the EU built law enforcement and counterterrorism information sharing in the wake of 9/11 -
Assessing the Legal Bases for the Defense Department’s Equity Stakes
The Pentagon has taken equity stakes in key suppliers without ever stating a legal basis—and its likely justifications don’t hold up. -
The Global Data Center Boom Is a Gift to Spies
A Chinese company doesn’t need to hack Silicon Valley; it can simply rent the server next door. -
GPS and the Limits of Control
What AI can learn from Selective Availability, the governance technology once used to pace GPS. -
Rulemaking by Memo: Why CMMC Suspension Deserves Review
DOD CIO suspended the backbone of defense supply-chain security with a memo. Under new case law, it may not survive the courts—or the threat.
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.
-
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
-
White House Releases Executive Order Declaring a National Emergency Regarding the Electrical Grid
-
White House Releases National Security Science & Technology Strategy
-
Justice Department Releases Opinion on Military Arrests Near Borders
-
White House Releases Executive Orders on Quantum Computing
-
White House Releases Executive Order on AI
-
Former Cuban President Raúl Castro Indicted
-
Trump Administration Releases 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
-
Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges
-
Lawfare Daily: Sept. 11, 2001, 25 Years Later
The Lawfare team talks about how Sept. 11 shaped the U.S. national security apparatus and the guests’ careers. -
Lawfare Daily: The National Guard in Washington, D.C.
-
Lawfare Daily: Why Autocrats Hate Cities with Ambassador Nina Hachigian
What U.S. mayors can learn about resisting autocracy from their counterparts abroad?
Other Lawfare Podcasts 
Other Podcasts 
Videos & Webinars
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, September 11
Explore
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.


