The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Roger Parloff explained why Steve Bannon’s contempt prosecution revolves around his attorney, Robert J. Costello.  

Evan Wallach argued that the Russian military is knowingly committing war crimes. 

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes sat down with Vladislav Davidzon—author of  “From Odessa with Love: Political and Literary Essays in Post-Soviet Ukraine”—to discuss the course of the war in Ukraine, life in Odessa today and the current state of Ukrainian politics:

Daniel M. Gerstein and Douglas Ligor argued that even with the Russian veto in the Security Council, the U.N. can take action in Ukraine through the General Assembly, including by calling for a formal cease-fire and recommending that states form a coalition of peacekeeping forces.

David Priess shared an episode of Chatter, which features a conversation between Shane Harris and filmmaker Nicholas Meyer about the renewed threat of nuclear war amid the conflict in Ukraine:

Emily Hoge explained how organizations of Russian veterans of the Afghan War have played a central role in building domestic support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Hoge spoke with Wittes about the history of Russian veterans groups from the Afghan war and their evolution into a big part of Vladimir Putin's propaganda operations:

Paul Stephan argued that frozen Russian assets cannot be used to provide material support to Ukraine in the face of existing legal barriers.

Katherine Pompilio posted the Biden administration’s comprehensive proposal to seize Russian assets to provide material support to Ukraine. 

Matthew Fitzgerald and Cort Thompson discussed what Starlink’s participation in Ukrainian defense reveals about U.S. space policy.

Howell also shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Priess sat down with Antti Ruokonen to talk about the dangers of treating Finlandization as a model for Ukraine and how Finland's own experience under this model resulted in the long-term subjugation of its politics to the will of its authoritarian neighbor:

Robert Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared an episode of the National Security Law Podcast in which they discussed the latest national security legal news, including a guilty verdict against an Islamic State member, questions about neutrality and co-belligerency arising out of U.S. and allied support to Ukraine, and more:

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast in which he was joined by Michael Weiner, Hoan Ton-That, David Kris and Nick Weaver to talk about about Clearview AI, rumors of cyberwar in Ukraine, Russian hackers, and more: Download the 390th Episode (mp3) 

Howell shared an episode of Rational Security in which Alan Rozenshtein and Scott R. Anderson were joined by Natalie Orpett and Kate Klonick to discuss the week’s big national security news, including Elon Musk’s agreement to buy Twitter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv, and more:

Howell also shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Evelyn Douek sat down with Charlotte Willner, executive director of the Trust and Safety Professionals Association, to discuss what it was like trying to build a content moderation system from the ground up and what advice she would give soon-to-be Twitter owner Elon Musk about keeping platforms safe:

Alvaro Marañon posted the joint “Declaration for the Future of the Internet,” which affirms the political commitment among 60 global partners to promote a more positive vision for the internet and technology.

Farzaneh Badiei compared how the U.S. and Chinese governments use tools to regulate users’ behavior online and argued that they are actually quite similar. 

Laura Edelson explained the “whos, whats and hows” of proposed platform transparency legislation under debate in Congress, including at least eight bills introduced in the past two years. 

Bryce Klehm posted the Director of National Intelligence’s annual transparency report.

Jim Dempsey discussed how agencies might manage cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure by invoking the “good cause” exception to the Administrative Procedure Act, as was done following 9/11 and the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Anderson sat down with Lindsay Wiley and Rozenshtein to discuss the legal decision that ended the mask mandate. They spoke about the judge’s approach to statutory interpretation, the role of the major questions doctrine, whether her views are likely to survive appeal and how the entire endeavor is likely to impact ongoing efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic:

Paul Rosenzweig argued that the pharmaceutical industry’s use of artificial intelligence makes possible not only the creation of new drugs but also the development of catastrophic new biological and chemical weapons.

Amy J. Nelson explained how emerging technology is creating holes in existing arms control agreements and how policymakers might better respond as the speed of change continues to grow.

Jordan Schneider shared an episode of ChinaTalk in which he was joined by JoAnne Yates, Craig Murphy and Jacob Feldgoise to discuss how international standards were established and the impact this had on China’s development:

And Steve Slick posted a call for papers on topics relating to intelligence and national security for the “Inman Award” issued by the Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin. 

And that was the week that was.