The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Starting with Yemen, Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring a discussion on the origins and potential outcomes of the war in Yemen with Gregory Johnsen, Daniel Byman and Benjamin Wittes, while Scott Anderson and Molly Reynolds discussed Congress’s response to the war:

J. Dana Stuster examined the Yemen peace talks, Saudi Arabia’s diminishing influence in the U.S. and the growing threats to researchers in the Middle East.

The U.S. Senate took action on Yemen this week, and Scott Anderson explained exactly what the Senate did, and what impact it may have on U.S. policy toward that country.

U.S.-China relations heated up as well this week. In response to the detention by Canada of the chief financial officer of a major Chinese telecomm company at the request of the United States, Julian Ku explained the legal complexity behind the detention. Rachel Brown and Preston Lim summarized the current state of U.S.-China trade relations in this week’s SinoTech. Meanwhile, Anthea Roberts, Henrique Choear Moraes and Victor Ferguson took a broader view, exploring how the Trump administration’s approach to economic security fits in with the broader geoeconomic world order.

In this week's Foreign Policy Essay, C. Christine Fair looked at a new Rohingya resistance group in Myanmar.

Kenneth Propp examined discouraging signs in the road for future U.K.-EU relations.

Kathleen Claussen outlined the latest battles in the Trump administration’s trade wars.

Curtis Bradley, Oona Hathaway and Jack Goldsmith wondered why Article II Treaties have diminished in significance as a tool of U.S. foreign policy.

And Scott Anderson provided on update on what is happening with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Meanwhile, in the Russia investigations, Sarah Grant and Chuck Rosenberg evaluated how well the Steele Dossier has held up over the last two years.

Bob Bauer and Quinta Jurecic explored whether Trump’s alleged role in illegal payments Michael Cohen made during the 2016 presidential campaign constitutes an impeachable offence.

Jurecic also shared Michael Flynn’s sentencing memo and the special counsel’s response to that memo.

Mikhaila Fogel shared Maria Butina’s guilty plea; Butina, a Russia gun rights activist, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to influence U.S. politics.

Jen Patja Howell shared this week’s episode of Rational Security, in which Tamara Cofman Wittes, Shane Harris and Susan Hennessey discussed L’Affaire Russe, U.S.-China tensions and Mohammed bin Salman’s friendship with White House advisor Jared Kushner:

She also shared another episode of the Lawfare Podcast, in which Benjamin Wittes and Susan Hennessey sat down with incoming House intelligence committee Chairman Adam Schiff:

Bobby Chesney examined Attorney General designate Bill Barr’s perspective on constitutional war powers. Chesney and Steve Vladeck also discussed Barr extensively in this week’s episode of the National Security Law Podcast:

Peter Margulies analyzed a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling on President Trump’s asylum ban.

Stewart Baker shared the latest episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast, featuring a discussion of global cyber news and Australia’s controversial new encryption law:

Brian Corcoran provided an update on recent negotiations regarding provisions in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Doreen Lustig reviewed James Loeffler’s new book, “Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century.”

Andrew Keane Woods flagged an article in the Yale Law Journal on the courts’ role in governing the internet.

Mieke Eoyang, Ben Freeman, Ryan Pougiales and Benjamin Wittes discussed the findings from their November 2018 public confidence in national security institutions survey.

And Benjamin Wittes flagged that a generous Lawfare donor has offered to match donations of up to $5,000. So donate now while the impact of your contribution will be doubled!

And that was the week that was.