The Week That Was

Alan Z. Rozenshtein asserted that President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet nominations—such as Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel—jeopardize constitutional norms, violate public trust, and threaten to transform the federal government into a “kakistocracy,” or rule by the worst.

Anna Hickey shared the Court of Appeals of Georgia’s ruling to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—over her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade—from the prosecution of Trump and 18 co-defendants for alleged election interference in the 2020 presidential election.

Natalie Orpett evaluated a recent ruling by Air Force Col. Michael McCall, which reversed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s “unlawful incursion” canceling the plea agreements of the defendants in the so-called 9/11 case. Orpett contended that McCall justly protected the legal rights of the defendants—no matter how complicated a “headache” the outcome will be for the government.

On Rational Security, Scott R. Anderson sat down with Orpett, Anna Bower, and Michel Paradis to talk about the week’s national security news, including Justice Juan Merchan’s ruling that Trump’s convictions under New York state law may still stand, the search for American journalist Austin Tice during the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, mysterious drones over New Jersey, and more.

Camden Carmichael and Brooke Buxton examined the failures of the justice system to combat the recent increase in domestic violent extremism motivated by ideologies driven by conspiracy theories. They discussed the difficulties law enforcement agencies face in defining the various violent ideologies behind these threats, how the government’s definitions of domestic violent extremist threats fail to address all ideological motivations, a potential reimagining of how the U.S. categorizes ideological extremism, the justice system’s need to adapt in this “age of extremes,” and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Katherine Pompilio talked to Elle Reeve about Reeve’s book "Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society and Capture American Politics,” including her decade-long career of investigative reporting, incels, political violence, memes, what it's like to build working relationships with alt-right figures, the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally, Jan. 6, the 2024 presidential election, and more.

In this week’s installment of Lawfare’s Foreign Policy Essay series, Kim Cragin examined changes in the nature of Islamic State’s strategy of terror attacks, arguing against a popular misconception that the group is undergoing a resurgence, and presenting evidence that contradicts the claim that Islamic State cannot be effectively managed by the United States, its coalition partners, and law enforcement.

Richard Overy reviewed “The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers” by Andrew F. Krepinevich. Overy concluded that Krepinevich acts “a sure and scrupulous guide” to a pessimistic thesis that argues that global security is reliant on continually “disruptive military innovation.”

In the latest installment of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren discussed the incoming Trump administration’s intentions to end the current “dual-hat” arrangement whereby both U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and the National Security Agency (NSA) are led by the same officer, the shortcomings of cybersecurity-related regulations adopted a year ago by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the rise of Whatsapp, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Eugenia Lostri sat down with Rozenshtein and Susan Landau to discuss the recent recommendations from the FBI and CISA that American citizens use encrypted messaging apps to minimize the chances of their communications being intercepted. The group debated the efficacy of the recommendations, the hack of telecommunication companies by the Chinese hacker group Salt Typhoon that precipitated the recommendations, the “Going Dark” debate, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Anderson talked to Ashley Deeks and Kristen Eichensehr about the pair’s forthcoming law review article, “Frictionless Government and Foreign Relations,” including what constitutes frictionless government, its role in the present policy environment, its risks, and relevant strategies for policymakers.

Jason Healey and Samuel Dab discussed disharmonies in U.S. cyber regulations that pose security challenges, suggesting that eight drivers of disharmony—both those dealing with the environment external and internal to individual regulators—must be addressed, and offering recommendations.

Andrew K. Woods suggested that although terms of service essentially act as public law for the internet, contract law has not devoted sufficient time or attention to these types of contracts. Specifically, Woods considered the lack of oversight of terms of service, proposing two paths forward—legislative limits on such contracts or judicial intervention—to ensure that “the state is occasionally asked to confirm that our massive online contracting is consistent with the basic public values of society.”

Andrew Coan and Harry Surden discussed the role that artificial intelligence (AI) may soon play in constitutional interpretation. Coan and Surden argued that AI, though certainly not an adequate replacement for “burdens of human judgment,” may prove vital as “valuable research and drafting assistants,” “sounding board[s]” for “pressure testing,” tools to increase efficiency, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Kevin Frazier sat down with Sam Manning to discuss the latter’s research into different possibilities for sharing the benefits of AI at the international level, including Manning’s analysis of adoption incentives, benefits sharing strategies, his plans for future AI research, and more.

Lakshmee Sharma discussed the threat posed by AI data centers to global water security, including the extreme demands of data centers for water for cooling, how water stress has precipitated political tensions across the Global South, several transnational tech corporations’ voluntary sustainability measures, the need for transparency on water usage, and more.

On Lawfare Daily,Frazier sat down with Adam Thierer to examine a recent report issued by the Bipartisan House Task Force on AI, including background to the report, Thierer’s analysis, potential counterarguments to his primary concern that the report did not adequately address the developing patchwork of state AI regulations, and more.

On Chatter, Shane Harris sat down with Katherine Voyles to discuss the film “The Hunt for Red October,” including their favorite scenes and characters, how the story influenced an entire genre of fiction, how the film could be interpreted as a Christmas movie, their mutual admiration for the martini, and more.

Lawfare is holding an end-of-year auction on a range of items the team has gathered over the course of our Trump Trials & Tribulations series, including film photos from outside the courthouse in New York, courtroom sketches by Lawfare staff, a rare courtroom access ticket signed by the New York trial coverage team, and more. You can register to bid for the items on Lawfare’s Givebutter.

And that was the week that was.