The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post

Lawfare topics took a backseat in the news this week, what with the Supreme Court's attention-grabbing week. The justices were too busy with same-sex marriage, the Voting Rights Act, and affirmative action to do anything of Lawfare issue--other than denying cert in Obaydullah, one of the GTMO habeas petitions. In addition, Steve commented on Justice Thomas's dissent in Lanus ex rel. v. United States, a case regarding damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Meanwhile, in the world of military commissions, Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman Al-Bahlul's counsel sent in his response to the D.C. Circuit detailing his efforts to see his client, and confirm whether or not the GTMO detainee would like to continue appealing his military commission conviction. John reflected on President Obama's speech at the National Defense University, particularly on his comments about GTMO. We shared (along with the rest of the world) the criminal complaint that was filed against Edward Snowden. Ben, meanwhile, mulled over the minimization and targeting procedures under FISA Section 702, and then mulled some more. Bobby noted Google and Microsoft's filing with the FISC seeking permission to disclose more information to the public about information sharing with the NSA. Columbia Law's Philip Bobbitt wrote in with thoughts about---yes, you guessed it---Edward Snowden matters. And the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security held a much-publicized event on the Snowden affair; we live-streamed it, and shared the archived video. Steve was interviewed over at CFR on Snowden's extradition. The plot thickened this week when the NSA removed its explainers on Sections 702 and 215 of FISA from its website. Hrm. And twenty six---yes, that's what I said---senators collaborated on a letter to DNI Clapper regarding the business records provision in FISA. Bobby reminded us of a speech given by former Attorney General Edward Levi in New York City in 1975, on the tension between secrecy and transparency. Another set of guests posts came from Cairo-based journalist Laura Dean; she ruminated on the Brookings talk given by the head of Tunisia's al Nadha party, Rached Ghannouchi, then on a new spate of protests in Cairo. Ken shared then-SecState George Shultz's address in 1984 at the Park Avenue Synagogue. Jane Chong, a Ford Foundation fellow spending some time with Lawfare, wrote her inaugural post about a recent dismissal of a former GTMO detainee's lawsuit against the DOD. Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. I shared the bill's GTMO provisions, which differ from those passed by the House a few weeks ago. As the Senate begins serious consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, it was only natural that Ben and Alan released Lawfare's e-book, a compilation of Lawfare posts about the NDAA. You can buy it at Amazon. The three Lawfare founders announced the blog's incorporation as a separate nonprofit, and sent thanks and recognition to our former tech guru---Michael Broukhim---for his help over the last few years. And that was the week that was.