The Week That Was

Benjamin Wittes discussed “The Patel Paradox,” the product of President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wittes argues that, since the nomination clearly represents an intention to commit impeachable abuses of power, senators forfeit the ability to credibly object to those abuses in the future if they confirm Patel in the first place.

Wittes appraised “The Plot Against the King,” the saga of children’s books written by Patel. Wittes broke down Patel’s version of events in the political careers of both Trump and Patel—ostensibly adapted for small children—from the 2016 presidential election against “Hillary Queenton,” to the defeat of “Comma-la-la-la” (Harris), leading into the return of “King Donald” in his second administration.

On Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. ET, Wittes talked to Lawfare Senior Editors Quinta Jurecic, Anna Bower, and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien, and Lawfare Executive Editor Natalie Orpett for the last regular episode of “Lawfare Live: Trump’s Trials and Tribulations.” Lawfare material supporters on Patreon and Substack received a Zoom invitation to join the conversation live and had the opportunity to submit questions for the panelists in advance. Become a Lawfare material supporter here. A recording is available on Lawfare’s YouTube channel.

Wittes confronted President Joe Biden’s “full and unconditional” pardon of his son Hunter, who was awaiting sentencing in two criminal cases. Wittes argued that the pardon betrayed Biden’s self-proclaimed values, laid the groundwork for Trump’s pardoning of his own cronies, seemed to accuse the administration’s own Justice Department of selective and unfair prosecution, and more.

Jurecic also discussed Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter. Jurecic—rather than weighing the moral justifications of the decision—argued that the pardon debacle illustrates the unchecked influence presidents can wield through the pardon power, revealing the risk of comprehensive abuse.

Shalev Roisman analyzed “separation of powers formalism,” the legal vision of separation of powers held by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court. Roisman suggested that the justices made a fatal mistake in their reasoning in Trump v. United States, failing to convincingly justify their privileging the power of the president over that of Congress.

Nick Bednar explored the potential implications of the second Trump administration on civil servants and personnel policy within the executive branch. Bednar considered Schedule F and reclassification of civil service positions, federal labor unions, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the new Department of Government Efficiency, and more. 

Luke Baumgartner discussed Blood Tribe, the neo-Nazi group behind recent violent threats against the Haitian migrant population in Springfield, Ohio. Baumgartner traced the group’s origins and explained how Blood Tribe’s tactics and ideology closely mirror those of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, the White Citizens’ Council, and more.

Paul M. Barrett reviewed “Black Pill” by Elle Reeve, a “gutsy book” that follows Elle’s reporting on an “early cadre” of the alt-right movement in the years leading up to the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” demonstration, which ultimately—though “awkwardly”—connects this movement to its culmination on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Lawfare Daily, Parloff talked to Claire Meynial about her recent book, “La Guerre des Amériques,” or “The War of the Americas.” The pair discussed how she came to write her book about political divisions in America, the results of the 2024 election, Jan. 6, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, Jan. 6 defendant Guy Reffitt, how the French public responded to all these events, and more.

Chile Eboe-Osuji evaluated France’s decision to consider leaders of states not party to the Rome Statute immune before the International Criminal Court. Eboue-Osuji argued that France’s determination contradicts the foundations of international law, including the “doctrine of the right of states to punish transgressions against the law of nations” that allowed the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals to take place after World War II.

Olivia Manes shared the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s decision to uphold the U.S. Naval Academy's policy of affirmative action, determining that maintaining a diverse officer corps is critical for national security.

On Lawfare Daily, Daniel Byman sat down with Charles Lister for an update on the ongoing Syrian Civil War, including the opposition’s seizure of Aleppo, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, what might happen going forward, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes sat down with Andrew Yeo to discuss the recent tumultuous events in South Korea, including President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, the National Assembly’s quick action to rescind Yoon’s declaration and immediately begin proceedings to impeach him, what this all might mean for the future of U.S.-South Korea relations in a second Trump administration, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Scott R. Anderson sat down with Joel Braunold for the latest in their series of podcast conversations on aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Trump’s return to the White House, candidates to steer policy toward the conflict within the incoming Trump administration, how the approach may differ from the first Trump term, what it all may mean for Gaza, the West Bank, and the broader region, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes sat down with Anastasiia Lapatina and Eric Ciaramella to discuss the Russian launch of a new ballistic missile against Ukraine, the failure of ATACMS to turn the tide of the war, the erosion of Ukraine’s front, Ukrainian optimism about the new Trump administration despite it all, and more.

On Rational Security, Anderson sat down with Lapatina, Ciaramella, and Francis Farrell, to talk through what Trump’s return to the White House might mean for Ukraine. They discussed how Ukrainians feel about the current state of the conflict, what Trump’s early national security appointments reveal about his plans for Ukraine, what Europe’s regional security might look like by 2028, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Lapatina sat down with Mary Sarotte to discuss Ukraine’s chances of a long sought-after future within NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion and occupation of much of its territory.

David Kirichenko discussed the use of artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) drones in the Russia-Ukraine war. Kirichenko considered how AI-enabled drones could give one side an “edge” over the other in the conflict, how drones have made sophisticated electronic warfare tactics critical to military success, the rapid development of AI drone technology, and more.

Karine Bannelier and Eugenia Lostri discussed the UN convention on cybercrime, determining that neither the private sector, nor civil society, nor even the signatories are satisfied with the outcome of the treaty, and that democracies that voted “yes” must work to ensure that the treaty’s provisions are not abused for authoritarian purposes.

In the first installment of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter this week, Tom Uren broke down the news, including Australia’s guarantee of the admissibility of the AN0M crimephone sting operation, CISA’s new red team assessment report, Microsoft’s appeal to Trump to “push harder against nation-state cyber attacks, especially from Russia and China and Iran,” and more.

In the second installment of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter this week, Uren broke down the news, including the rise of the “hack-for-hire” industry and its effect on policy, “crimephones,” cryptocurrency hacks and the pursuit of remote tech worker jobs by North Korea, and more.

Katherine Pompilio shared the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision to deny three petitions challenging the constitutionality of the TikTok ban in the United States.

On Chatter, David Priess spoke with Sherri Goodman about her work on the staff of the Senate Armed Service Committee starting in the 1980s, the threat climate change poses to military facilities, how climate change and environmental concerns have changed military training, climate change as multiplier of opportunities as well as a multiplier of threats, and more.

Please submit your questions to be answered on our annual “Ask Us Anything” podcast, an opportunity for you to ask Lawfare editors and contributors this year’s most burning questions. To ask by phone, call (202) 743-5831, wait through the rings, and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re calling from (if you like), your question, and whether or not you have a specific member of the Lawfare team in mind to answer. You can also record your question and send it to askusanythinglawfare@gmail.com, or include a written question in the body of your email. We look forward to hearing from you! Please submit your questions by Dec. 18.

And that was the week that was.