The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

It has been a busy week for the special counsel investigation.

Timothy Edgar argued that the special counsel’s indictment of Russian hackers will not make Russia behave as the 2014 indictment of Chinese hackers in United States v. Wang Dong made China behave. Jack Goldsmith suggested that the indictment could inadvertently aid U.S. adversaries. Andrew Keane Woods contended that the indictment’s apparent reliance on cross-border data underscores the significance of the Microsoft-Ireland case. Charlie Dunlap explained why the indictment does not allege that Russian interference altered the results of the 2016 election.

Benjamin Wittes posted the latest episode of Rational Security: The “Mansplaining” Edition. The all-male panel of Wittes, Shane Harris and Bill Galston discuss the indictment of Russian hackers, among other things:

Matthew Kahn posted Alex van der Zwaan’s criminal information, the statement of offense, and his plea agreement.

Kahn also posted the special counsel’s superseding indictment against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Quinta Jurecic summarized the new information provided by the indictment.

Kahn posted Rick Gates’s superseding criminal information, statement of offense, and plea agreement. Kahn also shared the superseding indictment against Manafort, released by the special counsel on Friday.

In broader L’Affaire Russe news, Gabriel Schoenfeld responded to Andrew McCarthy’s latest writing on whether there is a case for obstruction of justice against President Trump.

Nicholas Weaver argued that voter registration systems will be the primary target of Russia’s election interference efforts in the U.S. in 2018.

Bob Bauer argued that the Rob Porter scandal reveals telling details about Donald Trump’s presidency.

Dakota Rudesill argued against President Trump’s proposal for a national military parade, stating that elected officials must work together to restore civil-military norms.

Phillip Carter highlighted three important questions for civil-military relations under and after the Trump administration. Kahn posted the Lawfare Podcast, a conversation between Carter and Goldsmith on civil-military relations.

Continuing Lawfare’s coverage of the military commissions, Julia Solomon-Strauss and Steve Szrom summarized the proceedings from Feb. 12-16.

Solomon-Strauss and Sarah Grant reported on the indefinite hold placed in United States v. Al-Nashiri.

Robert Chesney dissected a factual dispute in Doe v. Mattis.

Hilary Hurd noted that U.S. officials postponed the repatriation of Ahmed al-Darbi, a Guantanamo Bay detainee set to return to Saudi Arabia to serve the rest of his sentence.

Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared the National Security Law Podcast.

Elizabeth Goitein and Robert Litt offered five proposals for increasing the transparency and accountability in Section 702 surveillance.

In this week’s Middle East Ticker, J. Dana Stuster discussed the Assad regime’s decision to aid Syrian Kurds in their fight against Turkey, corruption investigations of Netanyahu, and Iran’s crackdown on foreign currency exchanges.

Emily Whalen posited that Lebanon’s next elections will change the relationship between the Lebanese people and their elected officials.

Josh Blackman analyzed the Fourth Circuit’s ruling in IRAP v. Trump.

William Ford shared the Supreme Court’s decision in Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran. Touching on the interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act at the heart of the case, Ingrid Wuerth explored developments in domestic and international law concerning foreign sovereign immunity governing central bank assets.

Christopher Fuller discussed the origins of U.S. drone policy and how drones came to dominate American counterterrorism efforts.

Stewart Baker shared the Cyberlaw Podcast's news roundup.

In a gripping piece, Chesney and Danielle Citron dissected the threat of “deep fakes,” their implications for national security, and potential responses to them.

Sharon Bradford Franklin explained how United States v. Ireland raises complex policy questions that Congress must address. Orin Kerr shared three final thoughts to consider before Tuesday’s oral arguments in the case.

Herb Lin reviewed the East West Institute’s new report on encryption, “Encryption Policy in Democratic Regimes: Finding Convergent Paths and Balanced Solutions.”

Jordan Brunner summarized the latest developments in Kaspersky Lab v. DHS.

Thania Sanchez reviewed Kathryn Sikkink’s new book, “Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century.”

Timothy Saviola and Nathan Swire posted the latest Water Wars, a collation of the latest news, analysis, and opinions related to ongoing tensions in the South and East China Seas.

And Michael Veltri, Benjamin Wittes's aikido instructor, analyzed Vladimir Putin’s martial arts prowess and suggested that Wittes may be underestimating him.

And that was the week that was.