The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Prominent politicians and critics of President Trump were sent pipe bombs in the mail throughout the week, and a suspect, 56 year old Cesar Sayoc Jr., was arrested Friday in connection with the case. Mikhaila Fogel created a resource page on what we know about the bombs in the mail, and this week’s episode of Rational Security, posted by Jen Patja Howell, covers the issue as well:

On Thursday, Mieke Eoyang, Ryan Pougiales and Benjamin Wittes analyzed the September 2018 results of their polling project on public confidence in governmental institutions on the topic of national security.

Steven Ratner assessed Saudi Arabia’s violation of core tenets of international law in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. J. Dana Stuster covered the resulting political pressure on Riyadh in this week’s Middle East Ticker. The Ticker also covered Turkey’s release of an American pastor, and Jordan’s cancellation of two lease agreements with Israel.
Stewart Baker posted this week’s edition of the Cyberlaw Podcast, covering the role of Twitter, trolls, and Saudi royals in the Khashoggi killing with Maury Shenk, and discussing potential foreign hacking in the midterms with Christopher Krebs, DHS Under Secretary for the department's National Protection and Programs Directorate:

In other cybersecurity news, Monica M. Ruiz argued that the country should look to Michigan as a successful model in state-level cybersecurity defense. Steven Bellovin and Susan Landau discussed encryption by default in light of new intelligence reports of Chinese and Russian eavesdropping on President Trump’s phone calls. Robert Chesney responded to Lyu Jinghua’s earlier article on the Defense Departmnet’s cyber strategy by providing an alternative analysis of the motivations behind and implications of the Pentagon’s new cyber doctrine. Ben Buchanan and Robert D. Williams also responded to Lyu Jinghua's article, exploring the role of the cyber strategy in the U.S.’s cybersecurity dilemma with China.

Nathan Swire discussed recent martime events in the South China Sea and Vice President Pence's recent comments on China in the latest edition of Water Wars.

The U.S. is planning on withdrawing from the Cold War-era Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; Hilary Hurd and Elena Chachko analyzed the strategic value that comes from official withdrawal.

Quinta Jurecic assessed the puzzle of Elena Khushyaynova’s apparent freedom against the procedural posture of her case, which had suggested a quick arrest.

Stephen Bates analyzed what we should expect the so-Mueller report becomes public.

Robert Chesney and Steve Vladeck posted this week’s National Security Law Podcast, part one of a two-part deep-dive into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Stephanie Zable analyzed the Supreme Court ruling in Dimaya v. Sessions, and the effects it has on sentencing in terrorism convictions.

Harry Graver and Scott R. Anderson took a look at the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 and its implications on foreign assistance policy, regardless of the Act’s constitutionality. Graver also assessed the Justice Department’s shifting rationale in a Guantanamo Bay habeas litigation.

Victoria Clark shared the affidavit and criminal complaint against Robert Paul Rundo and three other members of a white supremacist group called the Rise Above Movement, which is suspected to have been involved in violence at the 2017 Charlottesville rally.

Leah West explored Canada’s system of repatriation and of prosecuting foreign fighters.

Ingrid Wuerth argued that the Supreme Court should narrowly tailor its reading of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the International Organizations Immunities Act in Jam v. International Financial Corp.
Jen Patja Howell posted an episode of the Lawfare Podcast this week in which Benjamin Wittes talked with András Pap, a Hungarian scholar of constitutional law, to discuss Viktor Orbán and the decline of Hungarian democracy:

Evelyn Douek analyzed the Myanmar military’s use of Facebook to spread anti-Rohingya propaganda.

In the newest edition of the Hoover Institution’s Aegis Paper Series, Jack Balkin addressed the nature of digital capitalism and how we pay for the digital public sphere we have.

Alden Fletcher took a historical look at the problem of foreign interference in U.S. elections in the founding era.

Daniel Byman and Tamara Cofman Wittes assessed the effects of President Trump’s conduct in the Middle East and the effect it has on Israel.

Eric Rosand and Rebecca Skellet argued that in order to be effective, programs that seek to counter violent extremism must involve local governments and civil-society groups in combating extremism.
Last week, at a book event at the Hoover Institution’s Washington Office, Jack Goldsmith sat down with John Mearsheimer to discuss Mearsheimer's new book, “The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realties,” on the consequences of moving towards a liberal democracy. Jen Patja Howell posted the conversation in an episode of the Lawfare Podcast.

And that was the week that was.