The Week that Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

As states respond to outbreaks of COVID-19 in the U.S., what power do they have to order compulsory quarantine of infected or exposed persons? Samantha Fry and Masha Simonova summarized the quarantine and isolation authorities in states that have reported cases of the novel coronavirus. Chiara de Cuia discussed the response to the virus in Italy, which is undergoing the biggest outbreak outside of Asia. Lucia Radder analyzed a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on U.S. management of COVID-19.

Charlotte Butash summarized the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn, which held that the House of Representatives lacks standing to sue to compel former White House Counsel Don McGahn’s testimony. Mikhaila Fogel shared the opinion, and Jen Patja Howell shared a bonus edition of the Lawfare Podcast regarding the D.C. Circuit’s decision:

Elliot Setzer shared the House’s petition to the D.C. Circuit to grant en banc rehearing in the McGahn case. Setzer also shared a decision from a U.S. District Judge for the D.C. Circuit ordering a review of Attorney General William Barr’s redaction of the Mueller report.

Simonova summarized a federal district court ruling that held that the appointment of USCIS director Ken Cuccinelli violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Setzer shared the decision.

Reva Dhingra argued that the catastrophe in Idlib demonstrates the need for a new policy to protect internally displaced persons. Aurel Sari examined whether Turkey could request military assistance for its campaign in Idlib under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Setzer shared a decision by the International Criminal Court authorizing an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan committed by the United States military, Afghan authorities and the Taliban.

Patja Howell shared an episode of Rational Security discussing John Ratcliffe’s nomination to be director of national intelligence and the Taliban peace deal:

Bridget Barrett analyzed what we learned from Michael Bloomberg’s online campaign. Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast discussing clickbait videos and influence campaigns with Lisa Kaplan and Sophie Lawton of Alethea Group, an organization working to detect and mitigate social media disinformation:

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast featuring an interview with Daphne Keller, Director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center:

Lennart Maschmeyer argued that the U.S. offensive cyber strategy of persistent engagement rests on faulty assumptions that compromise the success of the strategy. Setzer shared a document released by the Department of Justice outlining legal considerations for cyberthreat intelligence gathering.

Evan Kielar and Patrick McDonnell summarized the Treasury Department’s new foreign investment rules.

Mark MacCarthy and Kenneth Propp analyzed an EU white paper on AI.

Setzer shared an indictment charging a defense department linguist with espionage for Hezbollah. Setzer also shared an indictment charging two Chinese nationals with laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency on behalf of North Korean hackers.

Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring a discussion of recent developments in African politics with Judd Devermont and Emilia Columbo:

Peter Margulies analyzed a Ninth Circuit decision which cast doubt on the legality both of the “Remain in Mexico” program and of a rule limiting access to asylum.

Setzer shared a joint statement from the heads of numerous departments and federal agencies on “Super Tuesday” election security.

Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Myunghee Lee and Emir Yazici discussed China’s policy of “preventive repression” in Xinjiang.

Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring a conversation with Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig on their new book “A Very Stable Genius”:

Setzer shared filings in which Michael Flynn waived attorney-client privilege, allowing prosecutors to interview his former attorneys at Covington & Burling.

Salam Fayyad argued that no Palestinian could accept Trump’s Middle East peace plan.

Setzer shared an opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court regarding reforms to the FISA application process.

Stewart Baker shared a bonus episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast featuring an interview with Noah Phillips, a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission:

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared an episode of the National Security Law Podcast featuring an interview with Brigadier General John Baker, Chief Defense Counsel for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay:

And Lester Munson shared an episode of the Fault Lines podcast discussing Chinese investment on the African continent:

And that was the week that was.