The National Security Law Podcast: Judge Pohl Says: ‘Hold My Beer’

No shortage of topics this week, but then again there was no shortage last week, or before that, or … ever. So, what’s on tap? Tune in to explore:

• A host of Supreme Court developments, including action relating to DACA, immigration detention and the due process clause, Patchak and the question whether Congress can direct courts to dismiss a class of cases, and especially the United States v. Microsoft litigation and the question whether Microsoft can refuse to comply with a warrant where the data in question is held on a server outside the United States. That last topic in turn leads to an overview of pending legislation—the CLOUD Act—that might resolve the issue in an appealing way.
• A host of military commission developments, including inaction on the Darbi plea-based transfer, clarification on the appealability of Judge Vance Spath’s remarkable abatement ruling, and a bold move by Judge James Pohl to compel Secretary Jim Mattis to justify the firing of Convening Authority Harvey Rishikof and his legal adviser Gary Brown (in the context of an unlawful command influence motion).
• Suing terrorists—and their banks: a discussion of JASTA, the Anti-Terrorism Act, and the recent Second Circuit ruling in Linde v. Arab Bank.
• The Schiff Memo, the #Meh-mo, and more…when will it all end?
• A new case for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review—an appeal by the government from a split en banc FISC ruling finding standing for the ACLU and MFIA to press a First Amendment claim to seek access to FISC rulings.
• And last, but not least, we review some recent letters from State and Defense, sent to Senator Kaine, reviewing Trump administration views on the legal bases for the U.S. military role in Iraq and Syria.

Alas, little frivolity this week. But don’t bet on that to continue!