The Week that Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Quinta Jurecic shared the civil suit filed by the Trump administration to head of John Bolton’s publication of his new book. The government claims that Bolton violated his nondisclosure agreements with the government because his book contains classified information and did not comply with the prepublication review process. Jack Goldsmith and Marty Lederman assessed this government lawsuit. Jurecic also shared an application for a temporary restraining order filed by the Trump administration against the book’s release. Goldsmith and Lederman proposed questions for Judge Royce Lamberth to consider in the District Court’s Friday hearing on the government’s motion. Goldsmith and Lederman also analyzed Bolton’s response to the government’s emergency request. Jurecic also shared Judge Lamberth's Saturday ruling declining to restrain publication of the book.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of Rational Security discussing John Bolton’s soon-to-be-released memoir, computer security at the Central Intelligence Agency and how the U.S. national security apparatus can brace itself for the next pandemic:

Mikhaila Fogel shared criminal complaints filed by the Department of Justice against two individuals allegedly connected to the “Boogaloo” extremist movement for their involvement in the shooting of two police officers.

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview on today’s policing crisis with Patrick Skinner, a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, who previously worked as a case officer at the CIA and has law enforcement experience with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service:

Elliot Setzer shared a livestream of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on police use of force and community relations.

Justin Key Canfil discussed the legality of law enforcement’s use of tear gas against demonstrators in nationwide protests ignited by George Floyd’s killing.

Richard Altieri and Margaret Taylor analyzed past presidents’ rhetoric regarding the deployment of the military during periods of civil unrest within the United States and contrasted previous executive statements with Trump’s recent proclamations.

Gary Shiffman examined what causes protests to turn violent through the lens of behavioral economics.

Setzer shared a livestream of the House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on racial disparity in the military justice system.

Alex Engler examined the circumstances that allowed #dcblackout to spread and discussed how social media companies can combat opportunistic disinformation tactics.

Stewart Baker analyzed the Justice Department’s new proposals to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and argued that the department’s ideas offer a path forward for reform of the statute.

Sam duPont argued that American law enforcement authorities have taken advantage of the lack of legislation governing surveillance capabilities and proposed policy measures to address concerns associated with facial recognition technologies.

Cameron Kerry and John B. Morris, Jr. proposed an approach to federal preemption of state privacy laws centered on striking a balance between the interests of divergent stakeholders.

Chimène Keitner and Allison Peters argued that the Homeland and Cyber Threat Act, which would allow private lawsuits against foreign states, is a misguided approach to countering cybercrime.

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast discussing hackers for hire, a Facebook-funded exploit aimed at taking down an online abuser, a debate on content moderation and other things:

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview with Laura Rosenberger on the Chinese Communist Party’s information operations:

Justin Sherman discussed a Senate report that discovered fundamental problems with the executive branch’s oversight on Chinese government-owned telecommunications carriers.

Setzer shared a livestream of the House Intelligence Committee’s hearing on online foreign influence operations.

Setzer also shared a Justice Department indictment against Charles Lieber, a Harvard University chemistry professor, who allegedly made false statements to federal officials regarding his participation in a Chinese talent recruitment program.

Eyal Tsir Cohen argued that as the U.S. adopts a more assertive China strategy, Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank will create new tensions in geopolitical alliances.

Howell posted an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Matthew Waxman has a conversation with Mira Rapp-Hooper, the Stephen A. Schwarzman senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, about her new book "Shields of the Republic":

Peter Margulies argued that the Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to uphold DACA may be subject to rescission in the future, and will likely be left up to the 2020 election.

Setzer also posted briefs from both the Justice Department and Michael Flynn responding to a court-appointed amicus, who previously argued that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan should reject the government’s attempt to drop the charges against the president’s formal national security adviser.

Howell also shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview with Norm Ornstein and John Fortier on ensuring continuity of government function in the U.S. after crises:

Howell also uploaded an episode of the the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview with Lawrence Douglas on the history of presidential election concessions and the vulnerabilities in the U.S. electoral system:

Setzer shared a livestream of the House Intelligence Committee’s hearing on the impact of Covid-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Jonathan Schroden analyzed the United States-Taliban agreement and argued that a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would be in the interests of neither the U.S. nor a post-peace Afghan government.

Jacob Zenn discussed the potential negotiating postures of various jihadist groups in the Sahel.

Richard Altieri and Benjamin Della Rocca explained developments in the clashes along the Chinese-Indian Border and in diplomatic talks between the U.S. and China. Bruce Riedel examined the history of tensions between China and India along their shared border.

And that was the week that was.