The Week That Was: All Of Lawfare in One Post

On Monday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse and Mazie K. Hirono filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking a federal judge to decide the legality of Matthew Whitaker's service as acting attorney general. Anushka Limaye shared the complaint in the lawsuit, and Scott R. Anderson, Mikhaila Fogel and Benjamin Wittes analyzed the message that the lawsuit sends to the Trump administration, as well as its prospects for success.

Quinta Jurecic shared Lawfare’s new resource page on litigation against Matthew Whitaker.

David Kris assessed the broader risks that the appointment of Whitaker presents to Justice Department interests.

Charlie Dunlap argued that Matthew Whitaker shouldn’t have to recuse himself on the basis of previously expressed hostility to the Mueller investigation.

Quinta Jurecic also shared another resource page that keeps track of litigation in the Mueller investigation. She also shared the Trump administration's petition for cert before judgment in the transgender service ban case.

Jim Baker and Sarah Grant explored what the Watergate "Road Map" reveals about risks associated with improper contact between the White House and the Justice Department.

Paul Rosenzweig argued that the disclosure of the CIA’s conclusion about Saudi involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi violates important norms.

On Tuesday, Judge Jon S. Tigar issued a temporary restraining order against President Trump’s new order limiting asylum; Peter Margulies analyzed the order.

Mieke Eoyang, Ben Freeman, Ryan Pougiales and Benjamin Wittes posted an analysis of the first year of data in their public opinion project.

Michelle Ritter, Sarah Grant, and Scott Anderson analyzed goings on at the Guantanamo Bay military commissions.

In cybersecurity news this week, Nathaniel Sobel explored the Security and Exchange Commission’s strategy for incentivizing American companies to invest in cybersecurity defenses by mandating disclosure and imposing liability on the victims of data breaches. Natalie Salmanowitz assessed the impact of explainable AI on assessments of the legality of autonomous weapon systems. Evelyn Douek provided a comprehensive analysis of Facebook’s upcoming "Supreme Court," an independent oversight body designed to determine the boundaries of acceptable speech on the platform. And Stewart Baker posted this week’s episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, in which he sat down with Mieke Eoyang to discuss Third Way’s “To Catch a Hacker” report:

J. Dana Stuster posted this week’s edition of the Middle East Ticker, in which he discusses possible peace talks in Yemen, the Trump administration’s reaction to the CIA’s conclusion that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Netanyahu’s attempts to evade early elections in Israel.

Daniel Byman analyzed the unique ability of the Syrian civil war to contribute to the creation of an Islamic State, and ways to prevent the next such movement.

Jen Patja Howell posted an episode of the Lawfare Podcast on the politics behind the recent Iraqi elections, what to expect from the new governing coalition, and how Baghdad might navigate growing tensions between Washington and Tehran:

Nathan Swire posted the newest edition of Water Wars, which focused on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and the U.S.-China clash that occurred during.

Robert Ross explored the effects of a shrinking U.S. Navy on the efficacy of Washington’s East Asia strategy.

Anthea Roberts, Henrique Choer Moraes and Victor Ferguson argued that the world seems to be entering a new geoeconomic world order characterized by the use of economic tools to pursue national security goals.

Michelle Melton explored the effects of climate change on national security in the first installment of a series on climate and security.

The #NatSecGirlSquad hosted a live podcast taping in which Benjamin Wittes sat down with Jung Pak, a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy program and a long-time North Korea CIA analyst, to discuss nuclear weapons and U.S.-DPRK relations. Jen Patja Howell posted the podcast on Saturday:

And that was the week that was.