The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

On Oct. 2, Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Bruce Riedel argued that Congress should hold Saudi Arabia accountable by halting arms sales to the Middle Eastern kingdom. Carrie Cordero assessed the benefits to the public interest of releasing intelligence information on Khashoggi’s disappearance. On this week’s Middle East Ticker, J. Dana Stuster addressed the geopolitical implications of Khashoggi’s case. Additionally, Stuster tackled Iraq’s new government and the recent U.S. treaty withdrawals.

Jen Patja Howell posted an episode of Rational Security that discussed Khashoggi’s disappearance, Nikki Haley’s resignation, and Bloomberg Businessweek’s report on an alleged supply chain hack by the Chinese:

Stewart Baker offered another take on Bloomberg Businessweek’s claims on the Cyberlaw Podcast:

Julian Ku explored the implications of a different disappearance, that of the Chinese Interpol chief, arguing that the world should further scrutinize Chinese attempts to build legitimacy and influence. Later that day, Hilary Hurd assessed China’s large-scale human rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang province, and Donald Clarke argued that recent claims that new legislation in Xinjiang legalizes Uighur detention are incorrect.

In other China news, a Chinese intelligence officer was indicted and extradited to the U.S. to face charges of spying on aviation companies. Anushka Limaye shared the indictment and criminal complaint.

Arzan Tarapore explained how India can help the United States check China’s rise in region.

Jessica Marsden explored how a recent federal court ruling could pave the way for greater judicial involvement in electoral security.
Quinta Jurecic analyzed the Trump campaign’s litigation claim that collusion is not merely not a crime but actively protected by the First Amendment.

Andrew Kent took a dive into the original meaning of Article II of the Constitution and its internal limits on the presidency.

David Pozen discussed hardball and anti-hardball tactics in politics, and their implications on partisanship.
Stephen Bates considered a secret proposal written by fired Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox to the judicial branch and the proposal’s relevance to the Mueller investigation.

On the National Security Law Podcast, Robert Chesney and Steve Vladeck tackled Senator Kaine’s letter to the Pentagon on collective self-defense, recent updates in Doe v. Mattis, and more.

Jim Baker posted the third installment of his series on the counterintelligence implications of artificial intelligence.

Victoria Clark shared the Government Accountability Office’s recent report on the cybersecurity of Pentagon weapon systems.

Steve Stransky examined the National Cyber Strategy “priority actions” on surveillance and criminal law reform.

Orin Kerr analyzed the validity of Fifth Amendment pleas in compelled decryption cases.

On the Lawfare Podcast, Benjamin Wittes sat down with Mark Risher of Google to discuss the company's Advanced Protection program for particularly high-security users and how Google’s security and privacy team plans to combat future, malicious cyber actors:

Another edition of the Lawfare Podcast this week featured a conversation with the EU ambassador to the United States, David Sullivan, on recent developments in the EU-U.S. relationship:

Bobby Chesney analyzed the similarities and differences between U.S. and EU legal frameworks in light of a European Court of Human Rights ruling against the U.K.’s surveillance practices.

In other ECHR news, Chinmayi Sharma summarized the court’s ruling in Big Brother Watch and Others v. the United Kingdom.

And that was the week that was.