The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Timothy Edgar explained the nuanced reasons why he has publicly voiced support for Edward Snowden’s campaign for a public pardon. Jack Goldsmith responded decisively both by predicting that President Obama would not pardon Snowden and by arguing that Snowden’s behavior doesn’t warrant such forgiveness.

Rishabh Bhandari posted the executive summary of a congressional report that concluded that Edward Snowden’s disclosures constituted a grave hit to U.S. national security.

Matt Tait responded to earlier criticisms of his piece on Apple’s Cloud Key Vault feature.

Benjamin Wittes dismantled a bizarre piece in POLITICO that alleges FBI Director James Comey has made a grab for power that parallels the notorious J. Edgar Hoover. Ben also posted a livestream of a joint Department of Justice and Center for Strategic and Intelligence Studies conference that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the DoJ’s National Security Division.

Steve Slick and Bobby Chesney commended the winners of the 2016 “Bobby R. Inman” prize that the University of Texas—Austin’s Intelligence Studies Project awards annually.

Herb Lin flagged a paper that offers and adds to the latest research regarding cyberattribution.

Naz Modirzadeh, Dustin Lewis, and Gabriella Blum raised awareness of a paper they wrote that grapples with the legal and procedural implications of “war algorithms.”

Bobby Chesney publicized a conference that CYBERCOM will host in October.

Paul Rosenzweig told us that he will be offering testimony in front of Congress on whether ICANN’s scheduled transition at the end of this month is a good idea.

Bruce Schneier gave us a heads up that a sophisticated actor is nibbling around the edges of the Internet to explore how they can take it down with a swift series of moves.

Susan Landau filled us in on a newly discovered research technique that may help law enforcement officials obtain iPhone data without needing the help of the device’s manufacturers.

Susan Hennessey defended the Rules Enabling Act in response to a piece Senator Ron Wyden co-wrote with Matt Blaze and Susan Landau in Wired.

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck rebutted a recent article by Aziz Huq that questioned the academic vibrancy and health of the national security law community.

Rishabh Bhandari and Helen Klein Murillo concluded this round of Lawfare’s coverage of the military commission hearings of Abd Rahim al-Nashiri by reporting on the second and third days of the pre-trial hearings. Quinta Jurecic posted the public remarks Brigadier General John Baker, the commissions chief defense counsel, delivered at a Georgetown conference. She also reported on a military commission proceedings this week against Majid Khan, who last came to limelight four years ago when he pled guilty on a series of terrorism-related charges.

Jack Goldsmith advised the White House to veto the Justice Against the Sponsors of Terrorism Act because it is both toothless and invites dangerous retaliatory moves by foreign nations.

Taylor Dibbert implored the United States and the broader international community to hold Sri Lanka accountable to international law when Colombo deals with its political prisoners.

Julian Ku warned that the legitimacy of the recent international tribunal award regarding China’s belligerent activities in the South China Sea almost entirely relies on the United States’ reaction.

Christopher Mirasola revealed that the Philippines’ new president Rodrigo Duterte has confounded policymakers in Beijing, Washington, and across the broader Asia-Pacific.

Beverly Milton-Edwards documented Libya’s ongoing implosion and what this means for the West. Federica Fasanotti informed us about the deep and turbulent ties that connect Russia and Libya.

J. Dana Stuster brought back the Middle East Ticker to tell us what has happened in this usually quiet region over the past week.

Stephanie Leutert explained why tens of thousands of Central Americans continue to migrate to the United States.

Shannon Togawu-Mercer analyzed what sort of trade relations Britain will likely forge once it officially leaves the European Union.

Nora Ellingsen reported on the latest international terrorism cases that are moving through the federal judicial system.

Ellen Scholl scanned the globe to see how commodities are affecting geopolitics.

Ben posted the latest episode of Rational Security, wherein the group discusses the latest kerfuffle that has ailed the Clinton campaign.

Quinta posted this week's Lawfare Podcast, which contained a Brookings event on ISIS recruitment:

And Stewart Baker uploaded the latest episode of Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, in which the Steptoe gang discuss questions of cybertax after the imbroglio that has emerged between Apple and the European Union. He also posted this week’s podcast’s interview with Ciaran Martin here.

And that was the week that was.