The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Amidst the rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, Ashley Deeks analyzed the question of the use of force and the right of self-defense with respect to the U.S. response to Iran, following the attack of two oil tankers earlier in June. Deeks and Scott Anderson then examined the legal implications of Iran's shooting down of a U.S. surveillance drone in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf.

Benjamin Wittes observed that the president statements on Iran represent an improvement in the quality of his argumentation.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast, featuring a discussion between Wittes, Anderson and Suzanne Maloney on the tensions between the U.S. and Iran:

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast, in which they discussed military force against Iran, the Supreme Court, the recent hacking of the Russian grid and more:

As part of Lawfare’s coverage of cybersecurity issues, Chesney explored the legal and policy questions raised by the recent New York Times article detailing U.S. Cyber Command’s intrusions into the Russian power grid.

Andrew Burt and Dan Geer argued that the Budapest Convention offers an opportunity for modernizing crimes in cyberspace.

Herb Lin proposed a method for establishing liability for data breaches.

Lin also argued that U.S. Cyber Command’s infiltration of the Russian electric grid suggests that demonstration of an offensive cyber capability does not diminish its value as a future operational asset.

Nichlas Weaver noted that any prosecution of Julian Assange will likely not involve charges concerning the Vault 7 release.

In other tech coverage, Rachel Brown and Preston Lim shared the latest in U.S.-China technology news, including the growing tension between the two countries ahead of the G20 summit.

Nicholas Weaver explored concerns over Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, arguing that government regulators should take action against the project in order to limit cybercriminals.

Quinta Jurecic challenged Nancy Pelosi’s case against impeachment.

She also shared the transcript of Hope Hicks’s interview with the House Judiciary Committee.

Hadley Baker shared a livestream of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the Mueller report titled, “Lessons from the Mueller Report, Part II: Bipartisan Perspectives.”

Jen Patja Howell shared the latest episode of the Lawfare Podcast, in which David Priess sat down with Jim Sciutto to discuss Sciutto’s new book, “The Shadow War,” on Russia and China’s asymmetric threats to U.S. national security and how the U.S. might combat these issues:

Howell also shared the latest episode of Rational Security, in which contributors discussed the acting secretary of defense, U.S. hacking and recent tension between the White House and Congress:

Sarah Grant dissected the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Karnoski v. Trump, one of the cases challenging the Trump administration’s ban on military service by transgender individuals.

Matthew Kahn shared a ruling issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Qasim v. Trump.

Nathaniel Allen, Michael Marcusa and Lawrence Rubin analyzed the spread of violent extremism and argued that the U.S. needs to adopt a broader strategy of addressing the periphery of fragile states, rather than focusing solely on individual-level recruitment, in order to effectively combat the issue.

Kemal Kirisci suggested that attempts to implement policy recommendations from the Global Compact on Refugees should begin in Turkey.

Ingrid Wuerth noted the surprisingly strong legal argument of protestors bringing civil suits against the Turkish government in response to violent attacks in May 2017 by Turkish security officials outside the ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.

Mai El-Sadany warned that a recent referendum in Egypt writes authoritarianism into the country’s constitution.

And Lawfare is accepting applications for its Fall 2019 internship. The deadline to apply is June 24, 2019.

And that was the week that was.