The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

The Brookings Institution hosted a special event on Friday for a live taping of the Lawfare Podcast: a conversation between former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker and Benjamin Wittes about the Russia investigation. Mikhaila Fogel shared the conversation:

Baker, who is now the Director of National Security and Cybersecurity at the R Street Institute, also wrote an essay for Lawfare explaining why, after everything President Trump has put him through, he refuses to hate him.

A battle continued between the legislative and executive branches, with the White House issuing a “protective assertion” of executive privilege over the unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence. Jonathan Shaub walked readers through that assertion. Margaret Taylor summarized the week’s clashes. Matthew Kahn shared an exchange of letters, which led to the “protective” assertion of privilege, along with the House Judiciary Committee’s original subpoena for the full report and evidence. The folks on Rational Security also examined the president’s assertion in this week’s episode, shared by Jen Patja Howell:

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck also discussed, among other things, the legal framework for Congressional subpoenas in the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast:

Fogel also shared a video of testimony given by FBI Director Christopher Wray to the Senate Appropriations Committee. She also shared a Treasury Department denial of a congressional request for Trump’s tax returns and a draft congressional contempt citation against Attorney General Bill Barr.

Jack Goldsmith defended Barr’s actions in the wake of the Mueller report. Robert Litt responded to Goldsmith.

Keith Whittington explored whether the House of Representatives should move to impeach the president if the Senate will not convict him.

This week in cybersecurity and technology, Kate Klonick delivered a manifesto on using empirical research and journalism to understand big tech. Jacquelyn G. Schneider explained the foundation of “Persistent Engagement.” Bobby Chesney posed some questions about U.S. CYBERCOM’s out-of-network operations. Chesney also analyzed Israel’s recent airstrike against a Hamas cyber facility.

Stewart Baker and the folks at the Cyberlaw Podcast discussed facial recognition technology and more on the newest episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast:

In foreign affairs, Frederica Saini Fasanotti argued that the U.S. needs to engage more substantially with Libya. Yuval Shany explored the international legal dimensions of Israel’s planned annexation of the West Bank. And Thomas Juneau examined Iran’s structural constraints even if the U.S. were to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.

Peter Margulies analyzed a recent Ninth Circuit ruling, which said that the Trump administration's “Remain in Mexico” policy can continued—Fogel shared the full decision.

Kahn shared a Bonus Edition of the Lawfare Podcast, featuring a Hoover Book Discussion with Jack Goldsmith and the writers of “Of Privacy and Power, The Transatlantic Struggle Over Freedom and Security,” Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman:

Rachel Brown and Preston Lim updated Lawfare readers on the state-of-play with U.S.-China trade policy.

Sarah Grant and Rachael Hanna summarized the latest developments at the 9/11 military commissions.

Patja Howell shared the latest installment of the Culper Partners Rule of Law Series on the Lawfare Podcast, in which Nate Jones and David Kris spoke with former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick:

Fogel shared a petition for rehearing en banc from the appellant in McKeever v. Barr.

Kahn shared an indictment of a former intelligence analyst who is charged with disclosing classified information to a reporter. Kahn also posted plea documents from the case of former CIA employee Jerry Chun.

Quinta Jurecic shared an International Criminal Court judgment in the appeal of Omar al-Bashir.

And Patja Howell posted an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes and Bill Galston delve into populism—at home and abroad:

And that was the week that was.